The Night Before School Starts: One Teacher's Perspective

How happy are we?  JIS: one of the happiest places on earth.
 Even better than Disneyland!

My students start tomorrow, and while I'm excited, I'm not all atwitter, and I certainly have no impending sense of doom or dread.  I graduated with my bachelors of education degree 26 years ago, and I still love this job.  (That being said, I have chosen my teaching positions wisely and gotten out of ones that have been less than fulfilling.)

I remember those first day jitters I used to get, and I don't miss them.  Tonight I feel calm and collected and happy that tomorrow I will begin a journey with a whole new set of kiddos.  I plan to knock their socks off with excitement for learning, to inspire them, and to find a special place in my heart for each one of those whippersnappers.

It's funny because every year I look at the upcoming students and think,"Oh no, I'm not going to like them.  There's no way they'll ever beat the class I have this year."

Of course I adore this student, because she's my dirty-kneed
daughter.  How lucky am I to teach in the same school
 that my kids attend?

Regardless, within the first week of the new brood coming in, I am already thinking, "This is the best class I've ever had.  I  love these kiddos!"

I am sure this year will be exactly the same as it has been for the last couple of decades.  At this rate of enjoyment with my job, I could last another couple of decades.  It sometimes scares me how much I love my job because it IS enormous and the responsibility IS huge, and I have been entrusted with a cluster of starlets and it's my job to tug them higher and brighter into the night sky so they shine and inspire and grow into full-grown orbiting suns.

How cool and scary is that?  Should they pay us more? You bet!  Do we do it for the money?  Of course not.  Do we do it for the holidays?  Only just a very little bit.  Every teacher worth his or her weight in gold (and there are a lot of us) are in this gig because we know we are making a difference, and that our nurturing and facilitation is going to bring forth global citizens who will pay it forward and make a big difference in other's people's lives one way or another,  and it will go on and on just like that Clairol hair commercial from 20 odd years ago.

I want my students to be smart and knowledgeable and turned on to learning, but mostly I want them to be happy and grow up happy and to go on to help other people to be happy.  Maybe that's simplistic (and it's not acknowledging all the myriad of skills and learning we teachers are indeed working diligently on imparting), but in the end, I wish more than anything else for the happiness and well-being of my students both now and into their futures.

After all, what is life for if not to be happy?

I'm off to choose my clothes for tomorrow and to settle in for a restful sleep.  If there are butterflies tomorrow, they will be beautiful ones.

Happy first day of school, my colleagues and students and parents.  It's going to be a bang-up year!

We teachers like each other so much that we even
choose to socialize together!

A New Understanding of Concepts Courtesy of "Making the PYP Happen"

I'm leading my first PYP workshop in Mumbai in September so I thought this weekend would be a good time to do some rereading of "Making the PYP Happen."  (I hear a lot of the PYP aficionados in India can quote it verbatim, even giving page numbers and paragraphs.)

In my intimidation and, of course, my attempts at preparation, I am rereading this important document with a serious demeanor, green highlighter and post-it notes in hand.  I'm the first to admit that I am more than a bit intimidated that I am being entrusted with imparting IB wisdom or at least facilitating IB discussion amongst colleagues, many of whom will be more experienced and adept than I am at embracing and USING this framework for constructivist learning.

I thought I really knew this document, but there are so many things that are jumping out at me on nearly every page.  The section on concepts has given me my biggest "I really needed to reread and remember that" moments thus far.  I'm certain there will be many more such jolts as I continue my re-education.

According to "Making the PYP Happen," the concepts are key: they "drive the curriculum," but sometimes they have driven me a bit crazy in the sense that I have a hard time explaining them and thus using them as effectively as I might with my students in their inquiries.  They key questions have always challenged me just a bit.  I don't always completely get them.  Do you know what I mean?  (And should a woman who has been practicing PYP for 11 odd years and who is a workshop leader be admitting this on a public blog?  Probably not.  Let's just say I'm a lifetime learner and someone who forgets easily so I have to do a lot of re-learning.)

Anyway, as I studied my PYP bible today, and came to the concepts section of the Essential Elements, I realized I had not looked at it in a long time.  Big aha: for each concept, there is not only a key question, but a definition, a rationale, and examples of related concepts.  Now, I'm not admitting that I didn't know this; I'm just saying I haven't looked at this in a while and suddenly I am feeling much more conceptually confident.

Let me give you an example of what I'm talking about complete with my own thought bubbles, in case you can't rush right over to your own "Making The PYP Happen" and see for yourself.

Concept: Causation

(This is one of the eight concepts that I actually find the most challenging.  I've never been that good with cause and effect.  Maybe that's why I keep making the same mistakes over and over...)

Key Question:  Why is it like it is?

(We all know this question inside out and ask it all the time, right?)

Definition: The understanding that things do not just happen, that there are causal relationships at work, and that actions have consequences.

(Now why couldn't I share that definition (and all the others) with my students?  Of course I could!  (I'm sure many of you have it prominently displayed in your classroom.  I do, but the typeface is so small, I can't even read it. Tomorrow I enlarge.) As soon as I read the definition again today, I had a whole new understanding of this concept and its key question.  It helped me enormously.)

Rationale: This concept was selected because of the importance of prompting students to ask "Why?" and helping them to recognize that actions and events have reasons and consequences.  The analysis of causal relationships is significant within and across all disciplines.

(Thank you, IB!  I had forgotten that you have given us rationales for why PYP is constructed the way it is.  These rationales are embedded throughout the entire document.  It's very reassuring!  I know what I am doing works, but understanding why and how it came about lends a fair bit of credibility to this framework we've all bought into, doesn't it?)

Examples of related concepts: Consequences, sequences, pattern, impact.

(Those sure seem like mighty transdisciplinary concepts too, don't they?  Yahoo!)

Each of the concepts are unpacked in this same manner.  Form, function...you name it.  I'm all ready to dive into a conceptual cocktail of learning with my students this year and to figure it out together.  (Admittedly, cocktail is not the best word to use in conjunction with students and IB, but I liked the alliteration.)

So...even if you're a "seasoned professional" why not do some rereading of your IB documents to refresh and invigorate your practice?  Don't do it all at once: just a few pages a day, maybe five or ten minutes, with or without a cocktail in hand (probably without, especially if you're still at work).

Your students (and admin) will thank you!

Gearing Up For a New School Year

I know some teachers dread their beloved summers ending and the onset of a new year, but I always find the build-up exciting: I get to try out new ideas; I get a whole new set of kids to get to know; it's like another new year, but this one for teaching resolutions!

Frankly, I also love routine.  For all my spontaneity, love of travel, and keeping the hours of an owl in the summer, I like coming back to a predictable schedule, a happy school, and a place where I feel like I have some control over my life, and where I can teach my students how to exercise some control over their own.

Yes, I am relishing the last few weeks of summer vacation.  I'm going to live it up to the full and stay up until the wee hours of the morning reading and crosswording as I love to do, but I am also planning my back-to-school outfit and thinking about how I can "mix it up" this year so I can inspire and facilitate learning in a way that thrills my students and keeps me loving my job.

Yellowstone with the fam!  Two teachers
equals excellent summer vacays!

The THINK Acronym

This simple little acronym has been around for a while, though I've revised it a bit for IB purposes.

Before you speak: THINK

T   Is it true?

H   Is it helpful?

I   Does it promote inquiry?

N   Is it necessary?

K   Is it kind?

I've found it's quite helpful to introduce this acronym at the beginning of the year and post it in a prominent place in the classroom, reminding students when they stray from the Think Before You Speak agreement.  Sometimes I just have to point at the poster, a student will stop in mid-speech, and either steer their comment in a more positive direction or just say something to the effect of, "never mind."  For students who have a challenging time with impulse control, it can be helpful for them to have a laminated copy on their desks as well. Useful on the playground?  You bet!  I haven't seen it used in secondary schools, but I bet it would come in handy there as well.

At home with your own kids?  I haven't posted it yet, but I might just put it on the wall beside our dinner table.  Too bad there isn't an M for manners in the word THINK!

Why CAN'T Students Get 100% Every Time?

Here's a thought-provoking question that may prompt a fair bit of debate:

Why shouldn't students be able to get 100% on every percentage-based assessment that you do in your classroom?  Most of my assessments are not formal and many are based on rubrics that I usually design along with my students so they know exactly what is expected of them and how to do the best that they can.

When I do, however, give a quiz or exam that is easily graded (mathematics being a good example), why should a student not be allowed to take that test again until they get 100%?

I am a teacher who believes in success for every student (as I am sure you are), but we often let a one-off test be the judgment of how well a student knows a particular area of study.  If it turns out they don't understand it, then it's game over.

But should it be?

I always tell my students that they are welcome to repeat their assessments as many times as they wish until they get it perfect. (I change the tests slightly (unless it's spelling) but stick with the same concepts) Why?  Because it's NOT about the grades.  It's about learning.  If a student doesn't do well, it means they haven't adequately learned the material presented to them.

If a lot of students don't do well, it probably means I haven't done a good enough job of helping them understand, and then I've got some reteaching to do; if there is a small number of students who need specialized help, that's also my responsibility to get some small group time with them and perhaps scaffold the assessment after some more practice together.)

I am always happy to tutor in the mornings (I have 15 minutes set aside for this before school each day), to send emails home to parents requesting specific help, or to do what it takes to help students achieve their personal best.

I'm not claiming perfection here: I am not as consistent as I'd like to be in this practice or many others.  Time and countless other things get in the way of me achieving star teacher status.  I'm sure you get it.

But if students want to achieve their personal best, who am I to stop them?  In fact, isn't it my job to make sure they do so?

What do you think?

Run Around the Field For Five Minutes Routine

I'm in the middle of P6/Grade 5 exhibition with my students.  They are intently focused I would say about 80 percent of the time, but sometimes their eyes roll back in their heads or I actually catch them passed out in front of their computers.

(In another blog I'll write about how important it is during exhibition for teachers and mentors and parents to help in the finding of sites related to their research so students can actually focus in on the research rather than spending the entire six to nine weeks on google fruitlessly culling through millions upon millions of useless sites...)

Meantime, when my students get exhibition fatigue, I give them permission to step out of the room and go for a run.  They just need to look up at me, give me a nod, I give them a nod back, and they know they are allowed to scamper out onto the field for five minutes to clear their heads.  I have some students do it two or three times a day; some students never do it, and most students do it a few times each week.

What I do know is this: each time a student comes back, they're ready to get right back into what they were doing with renewed vim and vigor.  Either that or they've realized they need to be doing something else, and they get going on another aspect of their work.

Giving students permission to take responsibility for not only their own learning, but their own need-to-take-a-break time is important.  My ten and eleven year old students can handle it.  I trust them.  They haven't let me down yet.

Making Stuff With the Kids: It's Not Always About Technology

With all the hi-tech electronic gadgets and the all-consuming iPad, I am gratified that our children are still excited about making the modern-day version of the tin can telephone.  They could be playing on our iPhone and texting back and forth, but instead they are downstairs with their daddy stringing some communication devices together with thread and paper cups.  I love it!  And how do you like this bouquet of construction paper flowers we made yesterday?

My hubby is the crafty parent in the family.  Yesterday he and our eldest daughter made paper chain Chinese New Year decorations; then he and the two kids made "love guns" with Lego, the only kind this mommy will have in the house.  I'm sure they are real guns when I am out of hearing distance, but I get sprayed with bullets of love whenever I enter the room!

Charlotte also made a wand using a pencil, construction paper and a glue stick.  This gave our daughters hours of enchantment.  They were also inspired by recent forays in the movie and book worlds to craft their own "light savers" and Nimbus 2000 broomsticks out of Christmas gift wrap tubes.  It's fun to watch Star Wars and Harry Potter merge into their version of fantasy play.  (Light sabers trump broomsticks.)

At brunch on Sunday, Don taught the girls how to make cartoon figures on the paper tablecloth with chunky crayons, and we followed it up with  a rousing game of Xs and Os. We haven't given in to arming our daughters with iPhones on our dinner outings just yet.  So long as there are tablecloths and crayons, we'll be okay.  Last year, Charlotte made herself an XBox out of a tissue box and happily carried it out with her to restaurants so she could feel like part of the in-crowd.  She wasn't disturbed in the least that hers didn't take batteries.  She's outgrown her XBox, but the girls occasionally bring their knitting needles along when we go out so they can work on their never-ending scarf projects.

No doubt, they will be clamoring to playing "Dragon Vale" on the iPad sometime in the next few hours, but so long as we keep that down to 15 minutes segments we're hoping our kids can continue to embrace their imaginary play with their taped-together weapons and Sharpie microphones and tin can phones.

We're not perfect parents and they're not perfect kids; the apps and the computer will always have their attraction (for all of us), but it's gratifying to see kids having fun without having to resort to electronic entertainment every minute of every day.