Expectations vs. Reality

Good morning colleagues! Welcome back to the 2018-2019 school year! I still can't believe that I've been back in school for seven days (and have been reporting since July 27th). I feel like there's so much to talk about, but so little time to do so! So my focus for this week is expectations for you in your job. 

I started thinking about expectations sometime last week as I was preparing for the first (of three) iPad parent night. As I was putting everything together, I realized that some of the tasks were completed by someone else last year. I haven't heard anything from this teacher, and it was too last minute to ask for help. I chatted with my principal and said, "Is this now my job?" She said, "I think it is now, yes." 

I was STRESSED. This wasn't something that I was prepared for, but, knowing it was a non-negotiable item, I knew it had to be done by me. Did I get it put together? Yes. Did I do a good job? Of course because I have really high expectations for myself. I also know that having high expectations for myself leads to burn out.

Have you ever met a teacher that is really, really burned-out? Like they do everything but utterly despise their job? That was me a few years ago. I felt like there was an expectation that I must do a, b, and c. Later, I realized, I was putting that pressure on myself. There were no expectations placed on me. I've had to recognize that I am my own worst critic, I am often a perfectionist, and I set unnecessary stress on myself. 

Since identifying those behaviors, I've met with teachers to talk to them about their stresses and behaviors. I tell teachers that they need to decide what is integral to their job and their classroom and that they need to rank the importance. What is non-negotiable? What do you WANT but know you need more time? What is extra that you can look at later in the year? 

Giving others the same advice, I realized that I should make my own non-negotiables for my classroom and my job. Basically, I'm setting goals for myself for the school year. 

So I would ask you to ponder these questions... Are you putting a lot of pressure on yourself? Do you find yourself spending too much time at school or doing school work at home? Have you figured out what is most important so that you complete that first? 

If not... why not? 

Thanks for reading! I'll see you in two weeks (I'll be in New York City next weekend!) :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

Advice for new teachers

Hello, colleagues!

Graduation is upon us! I love this time of year because the weather is (usually) pleasant, people are all nostalgic, and teachers are reflecting on the end of the year. Last weekend I was perusing Buzzfeed when I came across an article with advice, for new teachers, from experienced teachers. That really inspired me to share some information that I have for new teachers. Even though I don't know everything about teaching (I've only been teaching twelve years),  I have learned a lot over the years and can often anticipate what will go wrong ahead of time.

So here is what I think new teachers need to know about teaching.

1. Expect to want to quit. Teaching is HARD. You don't realize how difficult education is until you have your own classroom. You have to be "on" as a teacher every moment of every day. It's exhausting. Compound that with learning new teaching strategies, with building curriculum, and with the massive amounts of grading that you have. You will have days where you're at school until six, and you find yourself falling asleep as you drive home, and then you wake up on the couch with a full glass of wine that you forgot to drink. It will wear you out and will eventually make you want to quit. But if teaching is what you want to do, and you know you still love, don't leave. Know that the longer that you teach, the better your arsenal or strategies and lessons will get. You won't have to prep as much. And if you combine that with effective grading policies, it will get easier. 
2. Find a healthy work-life balance. This is something that every teacher struggles with, myself included. But it is achievable. I'm someone who separates my professional and personal lives quite a bit, so I try to keep school work at school. I realized over time that I couldn't grade at home for both struggling to work at home and because I needed the separation. But it's not healthy to stay at school incredibly late either. I made a rule for myself that I would work, at school, every day until 4. I would leave school at 4, and whatever wasn't done, wasn't done. This also helped me learn to prioritize what work was essential. I also visited new and charming coffee shops in town on Saturdays where I would also do school work and get caught up from the previous week. This schedule allowed me to have my weeknights for reading or watching tv, it promised me Friday and Saturday nights for going out to eat and spending time with my husband and friends, and gave me a full Sunday for grocery shopping, watching football, and meal prep for the week. 
3. Reach out to your PLN. PLN stands for personal learning network. This network is where you learn everything that you can about teaching. My PLN consists of my very close colleague friends, in-building colleagues that I admire, other teachers that I've met through trainings and classes, and teachers that I follow on Twitter. I insist on being around other teachers that are like-minded but push me to think and work outside my bubble. A new teacher will probably struggle with finding a PLN to start, but a new teacher should find a mentor in-building. This mentor should guide them through what they need to know about the school but also about being a new teacher. A new teacher may want to find more than ONE mentor. I've been lucky enough to mentor new (and not new teachers) because they believed I had the information that they were looking for. A new teacher should also sign up for Twitter ASAP. It's a perfect (and relatively safe) way to ask any and every question!
4. Build relationships with your students. This is something that I still struggle with (it's easily my biggest weakness as a teacher). Get to know your kids. Find out what they like. Try to build real-world "stuff" into your curriculum as much as possible. Talk to your kids. Listen to your kids. Give them your time and your attention. Be a parent, a counselor, a friend, and an adult. Give them advice. Sometimes repeat that advice over and over. Stick up for them. Tell them when they're wrong but admit when you're wrong too. Forgive and forget. Remember that every day is a new day. Believe that every student can succeed (even if they fail your class). 
5. Don't be afraid of making mistakes and don't be fearful of jumping into the deep end. I make mistakes EVERY day! I've told students to "tap that" (when talking about iPads), I've said some unsavory things to students in anger, and I've gotten defensive to parents when they have simple questions. I've also learned how to incorporate iPads into classrooms, I've built curriculums from scratch (twice!), and I've presented at local and national conferences. As a teacher, you must take risks to grow and mature. As you do so, you will make mistakes, and some of them will be terrible. But you have to evolve and change. Being a stagnant teacher isn't great. In your class, students will stop engaging and will start being compliant. 
6. Sometimes you have to go slow to go fast. Sometimes you have to start small to get big. This was probably one of the most frustrating things for me to learn. I wanted to be an excellent teacher right away. I wanted everything to be perfect (and easy). That's just not how teaching is. I think I realized this when doing flipped learning. I was never trained in flipped learning, and sort of stumbled and bumbled my way through. It was when I was explaining to another teacher about the process when she said, "It's just so easy for you." I told her that I needed five years to really grasp flipped learning in my classroom, and I realized it took me FIVE YEARS. Even now, with broadcasting, I've designed a great base that I can use for the remaining years to come, but there's still more to do. As I see new students and realize what skills they're lacking, I then have to design new lessons and create new quizzes. I want to self-pace a lot of my curriculum. I need to differentiate my curriculum for new special needs students. I want to change my work into Hyperdocs so that it's all located in one place. But I can't do all that this summer. I can do bits and pieces so that my curriculum evolves over time. 

Other advice that I have for teachers? 

• Learn about different DOK (depth of knowledge) levels and don't be afraid to challenge your students. 
• Understand what differentiation is. You will have students at all levels, and you need to meet them where they are. That includes ELD and SPED students. 
• Sometimes you just need to throw your lesson plans out the window.  
• Be the adult in the room.
• Watch other teachers teach. 

Thanks for reading! I hope that you all have a lovely summer! I'll see you next school year :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

End of year reflections

Good morning, colleagues! This week I was sitting and watching my students collaborate while making their broadcasting segments. I realized, now that it's the end of the year, that I should probably blog about how my school year went!

I had some large shoes to fill in my the broadcasting position. The teacher who left, to become a full-time filmmaker, was beloved by the students and set an excellent precedent for the job. I knew that I wanted to put my own touch on the broadcast, so my focus for the year was to have students design stories that involved as many Skyview students as possible. Here's what went well:

All three classes worked together to produce the weekly broadcast. I set up a Google Doc script at the beginning of the year. The doc was accessible by all three of my classes. This allowed all three groups to work together to design the script because they could all see each others' work. This also drummed up excitement as students saw other ideas, were inspired, and then pitched concepts to me for later broadcasting segments.

Students had choices when picking weekly stories. Because I have three classes, I didn't want to favor one more than the other. Every week a different group picked "first" for broadcast segments. Students selected their top three choices for the videos (using a Google Form), then I put them into groups based on their decisions. 99% of the time the students got one of their top three choices. Because I rotated which class picked first, everyone got their first choice at some point (including being anchors!). Also, if a student or group pitched a topic to me, I ensured that they got that idea as their first choice.

The script layouts worked really well. I ended up having to build brand new scripts for Broadcasting 2.0. I knew when making the scripts that students would need guidance and structure, but I still wanted students to always have the ability to present their voice. I realized, over time, that some stories were very similar. I recognized that I could build a script template that could be reused over and over. I then put together that I could grade those scripts the same way! Once I developed a model, then I would plan a Marzano scale for proficiency grading. The script template gave the students structure for what they needed for proficiency but was flexible enough to allow for student creativity.

There were new students on the broadcast each week. To get student and teacher "buy-in," I created a Google Form that teachers would use to sign up their classes for the weekly show. Part of the video included teacher and student interviews. I would work with my students each week to pick new students that have not been on the broadcast. Then, to build community, I would have my students put the interviewee's name on the screen. That is a start to how people get to know each other. First, you have to learn their name. I also partnered with Yearbook to have access to their photos. We did a photo slideshow every week as a) a preview of the yearbook at the end of the year and b) so that more students could see themselves in the broadcast.

More school stories. As I said in my previous section, the broadcast is meant to build a community in the school. When dealing with middle school students, we have to walk a fine line between creativity, being outlandish, focusing on the school, and not being boring! I knew it was important for students to see themselves in the broadcast instead of just the broadcasting kids. I knew it was essential to design stories that focus on what's happening in the school. But I also want to honor MY students and provide them with the opportunity to be creative and have choice and voice. When I put the broadcast script together, I would always include some sort of original video. Even though a video is creative, if it's about a topic that the kids care about, then it will matter to everyone, though it may not be school related.

Added extra touches. I wanted kids to take ownership while also learning about all of the different jobs that are required to make a broadcast. I taught all of my students how to use GarageBand on the computer and iPad. I wanted students to design music so that, in some cases, they take ownership of the video they are creating. I also taught my students twenty-three different camera shots to try to add variety to the videos they produce. I also added extra school information like sports scores and daily announcements. My colleague who does daily announcements even thanks the broadcasting kids on Friday for saying them! I wanted to make sure my students were still seen in the broadcast, so they put the credits at the end of the show on top of videos of them dancing or being silly. I even let them put bloopers at the end of the broadcast for extra fun.

All in all, this year was a success for my students and for myself. I never thought that I would have a job in broadcasting (especially after eleven years as a social studies teacher), but I was excited to have this opportunity. I'm just taking it all in!

Thanks for reading! I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

Grading Policies Evolved

Hello, colleagues! Are you guys tired? I know I am - it's the end of the year, and I just spent eight hours at our last track meet of the season yesterday. I'm also frustrated... we had students that couldn't compete in the competition because they were ineligible. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm a teacher more than I'm a coach, so I've seen it all through my own classes. Students do fail assignments which cause them to fail classes. I've also had students fail my class and be ineligible. However, one thing I noticed this year is students failing a class due to strange grading practices.

Instead of blogging about what I think my colleagues are doing "wrong," I'm going to post about grading practices that I've changed over the years due to reflection and research.

1. No zeroes. A zero in the grade book implies that a student has LITERALLY DONE NOTHING. Nada. Zero. Zilch. Is that ever the case? Sometimes, sure. I've given kids zeroes on flipped learning because they never started it. Other than flipped learning, I did not give students a zero. If you look at a standard grading scale, an F is between a 0 - 59%. That is an enormous gap. If a student does not turn in an assignment, they still did work in class. Did they do 59% of the work? Usually, they did more, but just didn't turn in the assignment! A student should not fail a class because of one task. Give students a chance to be successful even if they didn't complete one project.

2. No late grades. Students have all sorts of reasons for turning in work late, stemming from them not wanting to do the task, to having a sibling get sick, or due to a family celebration. Should a student be penalized an arbitrary 10% because they turned an assignment in one day late? I don't think so! If students can prove that they know the information, and they meet the criteria of the rubric, then they deserve a better grade, even if it's overdue.

3. More formative assessments. Does this mean I should get rid of summative assessments? Absolutely not; they have a time and a place. Should a kid's grade suffer because of one test for an entire quarter? That's a tough one, but I would argue that it's also crucial that a teacher checks for understanding throughout the unit. Those checks should also be considered assessments, even if they are formative assessments. I would always know if a student would fail ahead of time because of all of the checkpoints that were done along the way. Also, if a student demonstrates quality understanding on a past formative assessment, then the grade should be changed. The student may have achieved proficiency at a later date, but they still exhibited mastery of the content.

4. No more "fluffy" grades. Students do not receive participation points. All students have to participate in my class whether it's by raising their hand or collaborating with a colleague. I also stopped grading assignments based on how they looked. My rubrics would have one category for "basic requirements" (like a specific minimum time or that it had the 10 pieces of criteria), but all of the other categories were based on research and content presented. Do I want a pretty project turned in? Sure, but I also want the students to show me and tell me what they know and what they learned.

5. Behavior does not equal achievement. Every day is a new day. Students act out for various reasons. There is no reason to "punish" a student by giving them a low grade. Grades should be reflective of student achievement, not student behavior. Yes, we want our students to be able to communicate, collaborate, be creative, and think critically. Human beings learn through practice, so if you want your students to learn to communicate, give them time to talk. Students don't need a grade to know if they can talk to other people.

The problem with sharing this information is that I definitely sound like an insufferable know-it-all. Do I have all of the answers? NO! I've evolved as an educator over the last twelve years (and will continue to grow as I teach). I just feel like these changes made a difference in my classroom. I want all students to have the capacity for success to have a promising future.

Thanks for reading! I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

Work that matters to you.

Hello, colleagues! This week I've been thinking about my job change (prompted by my yearly teacher evaluation) and how I love my new job. I enjoy this position because I feel like I'm making a difference! Making a difference fits in with my personality (which I blogged about already). It's important to me to feel like I'm making a difference because it means that my work is meaningful. I can see the impact that my class is having on my students, the rest of the students in the building, and on the staff members. So, in this post, I want to talk about HOW to create meaningful work! Why is it so important?

Step 1. Work. Continue to work. Go to work every day.
I am lucky that I enjoy my job. I don't love waking up early, and I don't love going in to work every day, but I like it more than I don't. I am also lucky that I have a job that excites me and is a little bit different every day. I'm also passionate about making people better, so I throw myself into my career to make my students better people. I care about education, and I care about how to educate people, so I am continually learning new ideas to use in my classroom.

Step 2. As you work, what makes you excited?
I was also lucky in that, after six years of teaching, I was asked to be on a 1:1 iPad team. I threw myself into digital education and how it can be useful. I got excited about using technology in the classroom.

Step 3. Start to focus on what makes you excited. Focus on that excitement and research to learn more.
I decided that I wanted to become THE iPad teacher. I wanted to be 100% paperless, and 100% focused on the device. I wanted to become the teacher that everyone came to for advice on using tools seamlessly in the classroom.

Step 4. Dig into your excitement and pull out those pieces. Get specific. Find the meaning.
I realized, especially over the last two years, that using technology wasn't always the answer. Figuring this out shook me to the core. But I realized that I cared more about educating children than just using a device in class. So I focused on excellent strategies to use in the classroom, with technology or without. I focused on being a fabulous teacher that uses technology a lot.

Step 5. If your excitement wanes, try something new in your life. Get excited about it.
After five years of being on a 1:1 team, I was burning out. I was working TOO hard because of my passion for education. Sometimes it's hard to be a "black sheep" and an innovator. I paved a singletrack trail, seemingly by myself, and didn't have a support system. I knew I had to take a step back and be passionate about other things. I regularly went to yoga, I bought a new camera for my photography, I read more books more often (and not about education).

Step 6. If your excitement continues to wane, go back to your work. Then repeat steps 1-6.
Then I had the opportunity to move to a new position - one that is concrete and provides real-world skills for students and also allows me to share my passion for education with my colleagues.

I would like to think that every teacher wants to make a difference and wants their work to be meaningful. I also would like to believe that teachers want their students also to be creating significant work. I've talked in the past about student voice and choice. It's become an integral part of my educational philosophy. Giving the students an opportunity in how to speak their voice provides meaning to your class for your students. Realize that you can use these same six steps with your students!

Allow students to work on open-ended topics and/or essential questions in your class. Have them do lots of work in class. Keep them busy, but don't focus them too much on one thing. Start picking their brain - what do they find interesting or exciting? Have them dive deeper into those ideas. Would you rather have a student memorize dates or make connections to someone who escaped from slavery? Would you rather have a student know all grammatical rules or write a creative story that has a well-written character and descriptive language? As their interest wanes, and they feel that they've covered the topic, move on to another unit and repeat the steps.

For students to grow (as students) and become young adults, we don't want them to worry about whether or not they got an A. We want them to create good work and be prepared for the future. Students have to produce in order to be creative. Students have to work to see what is solid work. In order for students to grow, they have to find their passions. Give students some autonomy, make their work complex, and help them find connections between your content AND who they were in the past, who they are now, and who they want to be.
Autonomy (freedom from external control or influence; independence). Give students some flexibility (e.g., student voice and choice). That doesn't mean that students to get to do whatever they want, but they should have opportunities to make decisions. Let students pitch you different options. Let students redefine your rubric. Let students invest in content that is useful to them. Let students build relationships with each other and build trust with you.
Complexity (the state or quality of being intricate or complicated). Make your students think. Give them hard questions that make them wrestle mentally with themselves and others. Force your students to think "outside the box" and present outside the box. Give students time to dedicate themselves to these tasks and support them. Make your students stretch, in your class, to be the best citizen possible when they leave at the end of the year. Set ambitious goals and help them map a process to achieve them. Don't let your students sit idly by.
Make connections (a relationship in which a person, thing, or idea is linked or associated with something else). Don't let your class only be about content, objectives, and standards. They are necessary, but they're not enough. We don't live our daily lives through content, goals, and standards. We crave connections and meaning. Make your classroom a place for making bonds, whether it's to a historical figure, a data point, another person in the room, to the school, or to themselves. Let your classroom be a tangible place for the students, so they walk away with some appreciation for life.

There are a lot of ideas in this post, but in the end, we want students to come to class, to care, and to create. Hopefully, something sits with you, and you make a change for Monday. Thanks for reading! I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

The A-Z of Digital Learning Problems!

Good morning colleagues! The struggle is REAL! I had such a busy week, and I'm exhausted. Luckily, I stumbled across an article talking about the A-Z problems in a digital classroom. Even though the article was only a year old, I felt like there needed to be an update. So here are MY A-Z problems of digital learning!

Applications - as teachers, we have to wade through 2 million applications available in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. That's A LOT of apps. 
Building rapport - Our students, when using digital devices, will put their head down and put their face close to the screen. It is imperative that we get them to look up every once in awhile, and maybe even have them talk to each other, and to you as a teacher.
Celebration of learning - when providing praise or feedback, we have to be intentional with sharing student success. It is a little more challenging with digital devices as we don't have a way to put work on a bulletin board in the hallway. As digital teachers, we must use Instagram, Twitter, and blogs to share those successes.
Distractions - "What did you say?" It is not challenging to end up down a rabbit hole when on a digital device. It is so important to make your curriculum engaging and relevant to keep kids present. It is also essential to help students learn HOW to stay present with a device. Be a good role model - be present YOURSELF.
Engagement - a digital device is JUST A TOOL! Make your content appealing and authentic. That will keep students engaged in your class and hopefully free of distractions. 
Feedback - it can be tough to provide timely feedback. What is a better use of your time... discussing feedback with your students in class (either in person or digitally) or handing back an assignment with feedback that they'll never look at? Google Forms is so easy for providing quick feedback, especially with Autocrat and Simply Send add-ons.
Group Work - group work can be a challenge when students are working digitally. G Suite has helped the digital classroom move forward, but we still have to be on guard. Apple Classroom has recently been a lifesaver because I can see what all students are doing. Every student needs to play a role, in group work, because that will also happen as students move into the workforce. 
High expectations - no longer should we be expecting DOK 1 level work... especially when students can just Google an answer. We should have high expectations, especially when it comes to the 4Cs (collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking). Our high expectations should also include students sharing their work with the general public.
Instant gratification - students just want everything to work, work right, and work right now. Life DOES NOT work that way, especially the internet! We have to help students move past needing everything done right now and slow them down. Patience is a virtue, and it's been learned young. 
Jargon - if we teach our students digitally, we need to understand and explain technological jargon. This also includes what's relevant to the students right now (gifs, memes, DMs, dog filter). If our students live on the internet, we have to keep up just a little.
Knowledge mastery - even though we should be moving beyond DOK level 1 activities, we still do want students to know and understand the content information. We must build exercises that use content knowledge for our students to master the topics. Memorization cannot be the only activity we use! Yes, I want my students to know what the Constitution says and means, but I also want them to understand how the Constitution affects their daily lives and how it will continue to influence them as they age!
Learning Management Systems - Which is better, Google Classroom or Schoology? Both options are fantastic depending on what type of classroom you have (or want to have) and what kind of students you have. My district pays for Schoology Enterprise, but we also pay for G Suite. I used Schoology religiously as a Social Studies teacher (for flipped learning), but now I find Google Classroom better suited for my broadcasting students. Find what works best, but know them both! Be an expert!
Managing time - I've come to realize over my 12 years of teaching that students DO NOT know how to handle their work! With digital devices, it has only gotten worse (due to so many distractions)! Helping students utilize calendars and find apps that quiet their devices can assist them in managing their time. Kids are busier today than we ever were! 
Networking - Emma Gonzalez was just another senior in high school until the school shooting at  Stoneman Douglas High School. Instead of staying quiet, she became an outspoken activist in the media. She has become a celebrity as people around the world know her name. She didn't continue to be quiet - she reached out to anyone that she could, to find her voice, and to find her purpose. Our students should be able to also network in that way, so we have to help them and support them through reaching out to strangers. This takes time but is a skill that is absolutely necessary today.
Objectives - technology can be fun and engaging, but you should also ensure that your curriculum has strong student objectives that align with state standards. Don't be a "fluffy" teacher! 
Plagiarism - two ways to prevent "piracy": 1) make your lessons un-Google-able and 2) teaching your students HOW to research. Students plagiarize when they are frustrated and have run out of time. We want students to explain their thinking, not someone else's.
Questions - Students. Have. A. Lot. Of. Questions. How can we provide help? Make video tutorials, write out explanations, make an FAQ for major projects... then put them all on a Google Site. Institute a policy - 1) ask a friend, 2) check the website, 3) ask me. Hopefully, this will help students become a bit more self-sufficient.
Rudeness - Students struggle with personal interactions with other humans. This is likely due to them staring at a screen for a majority of their day. Along with building relationships and rapport, we also need to teach students empathy and proper social interactions. Do not let students continue to be rude - model how people should be interacting with each other.
Scaffolded instruction - this is a problem that every teacher has, but technology should help support scaffolded instruction. Gone are the days where we just assign fewer problems to complete for homework. We want all of our students to understand the content, explain their thinking, and meet the same objectives. We need to, then, think of a variety of activities, using technology, that will meet their needs.
Troubleshooting - Even though we would love to assume our students are "digital natives," that myth is just not accurate. Yes, students, for the most part, know how to use digital devices, but they do not know how to use them for an educational purpose. We have to teach our students how to troubleshoot their way through a digital issue. We have to reinforce those troubleshooting techniques until our students know what to do. We cannot always fix the problem for the students!
Understanding failure - students have to be challenged to face frustration and, sometimes, defeat. Not everything in life comes easy, and students have to understand that before they are adults. We do not want our students to purposefully fail every time they try something, but they should be challenged so that tasks are challenging. We want students to be tested in a way that may cause them to fail so that they learn from their mistakes and move forward with a growth mindset. 
Video tutorials - Stop assigning homework! With the free time that you now have, design video tutorials over your top vital concepts. Put them on YouTube, or Schoology, or Google Classroom. Use Edpuzzle to build in comments and questions. Then, after this year, make another set of videos over your secondary key concepts. Start small to be productive!
Wifi - technology is not going to work at all times, so we have to be prepared for when it does not work. Does that mean we need to double plan? Maybe. Should we have the capability to think on our feet? Probably. 
Xenagogue - our students are not always prepared for living in a digital world, so we have to assume that they do not speak a digital native language. We have to believe that our students are "foreigners" to the internet and teach them as such. Never assume that the teacher before you has prepared your students for how YOU teach - educate the students that you have, right now, at this moment. 
Your students - you know your students best. Prepare them for a world not yet imagined, but also ensure that your students are getting a high-quality education. Not every great task requires technology, so sometimes you need to suck it up and use paper or provide a hands-on activity.
Zombie Syndrome - The internet is not the answer for everything. As a teacher, take a break. In your classroom, take a break. Go for a walk and enjoy nature. See what is around your school or even your community. The internet will be there when you get back. 

Thanks for reading... I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

Helping Students Research

Good morning colleagues! This week researching in class came up two different times. The first time research came up was when my former teammate needed some advice to help students analyze Civil War historical figures. The second time research was in a conversation was talking about some students that are ineligible for track because of failing a research assessment in math.

It is very evident that students struggle with researching a topic. I think the main reason is that students are overwhelmed with information as they investigate, because they expect instant results (instant gratification), and because learners have never been taught HOW and WHY they should research a topic.

This is not a blog post where I wag my finger at other people and their inadequate teaching of research in their class. I am less than a year out from being a Social Studies teacher myself, and I will own that I did a poor job teaching my students. This post is, instead, about how I think we can get students to research thoroughly.

I believe that this problem can be resolved through teaching students advanced Google searching skills. If a student is studying Abraham Lincoln, there are 10,500,000 results. TEN MILLION RESULTS! What if the information that they need is hiding on page 36 of the results?! I've long been a proponent of teaching students advanced Google searching skills. I haven't always been the best at explaining it to the kids, but it's essential to help students dig through the waste of the internet to find the diamond. I even put together an infographic of my (personally) most used Google search terms when I research. If a student is analyzing Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address on Google, there are 646,000 results. "Abraham Lincoln" "Gettysburg Address" site:.edu has 8,650 results. "Abraham Lincoln" "Gettysburg Address" site:.gov has 7,550 results. Both of those searches have many results to wade through, but it's approximately 98% fewer results than the original search AND all results come from an educational or government website. "Abraham Lincoln" "Gettysburg Address" site:nytimes.com has only 343 results. We have to help students "dig" to find the information that they need. If you have your students doing general research, I would encourage you to force students to find information from .edu and .gov pages, and maybe even ask them to use a reputable news source.

If you want students to slow down as they work, SLOW THEM DOWN and give them time. I would encourage you to do a class research project at the beginning of the year. Work together as a class using the same search queries and search results. Have students look at the author to identify bias and to evaluate the source. Have students discuss what makes a result better than another. Force students to find a wide variety of sources as they research. Then, as students get better at slowing down, start giving them more of a challenge. Give them questions that cannot be "Googled," i.e., have them form an opinion about the subject and find evidence to support their answer. It makes it much more difficult to plagiarize, AND if they're passionate about the topic (or their opinion), they will invest and want to find the answers.

Why should we make our students investigate a variety of topics? I think the better question is, do we want our students to be self-sufficient, well-rounded, life-long learners? I feel like every teacher would answer yes to that question. But not every student is going to be an academic for the rest of their lives. Some kids may end up as a mechanic, a doctor, or a secretary. No matter what occupation someone has in the future, they will likely have to do some research. We seek more efficient methods for doing our job, and in an ever-changing technological world, how we do our jobs changes. We have to be able to adapt to those changes through making and understanding that evolution. So after we conquer the "why" with our students, we have to teach them the HOW. Students need to learn how to use advanced skills with Google searching, they need to understand what a good source looks like, they need time management skills through assigning small chunks of work at a time, and they need to cite the sources that they use to avoid plagiarizing someone else's work. In the end, if you want students to be excellent researchers, you have to teach them to be thorough and thoughtful researchers. Never expect that the teacher they had the previous year showed them anything about research. Take ownership of the students that you have, right now, in your class.

As I wrote out my blog, I realized there was an extra problem - meeting the needs of ALL of our students. This problem was always my most challenging. I did a decent job at differentiating and accommodating my assignments, except for research. You have to scaffold inquiry for students, whether that's finding and vetting websites for them, creating research cloze notes, or even putting students into homogeneous groups for a research project. I would also think about doing small mini-lessons for research or even severely chunking a student's time in your class as they research. It is hard for kids to stay focused past 20 minutes. How can you use that to your advantage? Can you make 20-minute research blocks available for your students so that they're not doing the same thing for 60 minutes?




Hopefully, this gives you some food for thought as you are thinking about an upcoming research project (or how you can improve a previous activity)! Thanks for reading... I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

Inspiration

Good afternoon colleagues!

Yesterday was STRESSFUL. Long story short, I had 10 (TEN) colleagues in my room taking the Google level 1 or 2 certification. Because they were logged in with their Google exam account (instead of their district account), YouTube and Google Sites were blocked by our district web filter. We figured out a solution, but it was a nerve-wracking three hours for all involved. We probably won't test under district wifi again!

But in the end, most teachers passed their exam! What stood out to me was their growth mindset and desire to push their teaching philosophy forward. It was a fabulous end, to a long week, that was full of inspiration! One day last week a tweet popped up in my feed with a TED video. I'd never seen the video before, and when I opened it, it was from February 2006 (as I am student teaching and preparing for college graduation). I found this video to be efficacious and inspirational.

Wow! There's a LOT here. What spoke to me was...

1. Creativity is as important as literacy. Yes, we want our students to be well-spoken and well-read. But we can't scare them away from what they are passionate about. What they are excited about has meaning and has a purpose. If we do not allow our students to be creative and take chances, we will never come up with anything new and original. I liken this to Snapchat. Who knew, eight years ago, that people would use a messaging platform that sent pictures. And these pictures would disappear after a period of time. You could add filters and text to become a storyteller. Or professional snowboarding. Five years ago, you could win a competition with back to back 720s. Then it was back to back 1080s. Now back to back 1440s. As more snowboarders take chances (and fall in the process), the sport will continue to change and evolve, and push the limits of a human body. But if you tell a kid that taking pictures, or snowboarding, is not as important as doing math, these results will never happen. 
2. Degrees are no longer worth anything. A degree used to ensure a job after graduation. Now, it doesn't. Now you need an MA or Ph.D. to get the same position. Instead of "preparing" every student for college, prepare them for what they want to do! Some jobs require on-the-job training or maybe a two-year degree from community college. We have to stop telling EVERY student to go to college. Instead, we need to listen more and help guide and facilitate them to their goal. 
3. Intelligence is diverse, dynamic, and distinct. I am a great example of this. I was a good student in school, but I was always the "dumb" of the smart kids. I could play the game of school, but I wasn't learning anything. I knew I wanted to teach history because I wanted to SEE students learn (not lecture them to death). The longer I taught, the more strategies I learned and the more creative I became. The more creative I became, the more my students learned. I started to find my passion and creativity with technology and found what I am really good at. I am more creative (and intelligent) now than I ever was as a student, or even when I first started teaching. It just took me awhile to find who I was as a teacher, to educate my whole being. 

After watching this video, I ended up down a rabbit hole of further inspiring videos.

1. Human beings are different and diverse. That means our curriculum ALSO needs to be varied and diverse. Students should not sit, hour after hour, doing low-grade clerical work. Students should be up and be moving while they are learning. I feel like this idea connects to Teach Like a Pirate with all of the "hook" options. How can we hook our different and diverse students?
2. If there is no learning going on... there's no education going on. You must discuss LEARNING when you talk about teaching! What are the outcomes? What do you want the students to KNOW? How will you know that they know? 
3. Students are creative. We've beat creativity over time. It is challenging to get eighth-grade students to be creative when they haven't had to be creative in nine years. How do we do that? How can we engage, provoke, and stimulate our students? Find their passion. Right now, their focus may be their cell phone. What is it about their phone that is engaging and exciting? Is there any way that you can bring those ideas into your curriculum? And it doesn't have to be about gamifying the classroom! How can you get students to create, design, modify, and improve? 

1. If you are going to lead, lead. Be visible to the students, whether that's in the hallway or the classroom or at events. The students should know who you are if you are a leader. Students don't have to necessarily like you, but they do need to respect you. They should see you as someone they want to be in the future. If you are transparent in your interactions and challenge students to be who they are meant to be, they will see you as a leader. As a leader, surround yourself with people that think like you and support students like you, but also challenge your ideas. With your fellow leaders, figure out the fundamental "stuff" and what the students require.
2. So what. Now what? No more excuses. Teachers say that they never have enough time. It is unfortunate to admit that there are only 24 hours in a day, so there will never be more time. What are you spending your time doing? Could your time be better spent elsewhere? No more excuses. Be solution-oriented and then ASK for change.
3. If nobody told you that they loved you today, you remember I do, and I always will. Love your kids. Love who they are now so that you can admire them in the future. Believe in them and believe in their possibilities. Only look at what they can become and let that drive your love for your students. Students want to feel special. You can do that by listening to them and allowing that support to guide your curriculum, your interactions, and your mindset. 

Find a way to be inspired these last few weeks before spring break! Thanks for reading! Be on the lookout (in a few weeks) for my next blog!

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

"Teach Like a Pirate" book review

Hello to a VERY snowy Saturday at a great coffee shop in Colorado Springs! I was definitely MIA last weekend as I got SLAMMED with a nasty cold. I didn't get the flu (thank goodness), but I did miss three days of school. I spent four days laid up in bed (minus watching the Super Bowl). It was definitely something... But I am well rested, back to getting to the gym, and am drinking some chai tea.

I decided to change it up this week and do my very first book review! I discussed with Mari, a fellow #sunchatblogger, about blogging what we're reading. She's jumped in and created a book-focused blog! I'm not entirely there yet but did want to blog about a book that we're studying for Skyview's mentoring group. (I'm a mentor for another teacher. Have I mentioned that? I still struggle with the fact that I'm helping a new teacher, even if it is the second year of me doing this.)

ANYWAY. We're reading Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess. The book is split into three parts. The first part is called "Teach like a PIRATE" (passion, immersion, rapport, ask and analyze, transformation, enthusiasm). Even though he explained that PIRATE was an acronym on the first page, I didn't read closely enough to realize this acronym until I was 3/4th of the way through the book. I kept thinking, "What does this have to do with being a pirate?" Duh Rachel. Get 👏🏻 It 👏🏻Together 👏🏻!

We were tasked with reading the first part before our mentoring meeting this past Wednesday. We were given a handout with discussion questions. As an introvert, I was not very excited to do a full group discussion. I wanted to discuss the book with "my people" in the building because I can easily communicate and collaborate with these people. As our whole group conversation continued, I shut down. I'll admit that I acted like a baby because the conversation did not go as I believed it should. That's a "me" thing that I have to get over.

The meeting did push me to read the rest of the book ASAP. Part two provides "hooks" to engage your students in your classroom. If a teacher doesn't walk away with one, ONE idea to incorporate into their classroom then they have <begin blunt honesty> a fixed, instead of growth, mindset. I legitimately have no other answer than this <end blunt honesty>. Part three is about "building a better pirate" which is just a way to conclude the book by looking at next steps in the classroom.

So what are my thoughts on this book? I'm going to bullet point the list because it's how I think, collaborate, and function :)

• As an introvert, this book makes me uncomfortable (in a healthy way) as it pushes me to be more creative, innovative, and "out there" than I already am. I have to work on being more silly (I don't like looking stupid) and be more humor. On days when I'm crabby, I still need to put on a show. 
• Dave talks about bringing personal passion into your classroom. I started doing that the last two years through sharing good news. I often talked about my photography and shared my pictures with my students. A few asked for my Instagram handle which I gladly shared. This has spilled into my current position as a broadcasting teacher, and now I take pictures of my students working on the broadcasts (and a few of them have asked to post as well!)
• The six words: "It's easy for you. You're creative." BOOM! This spoke to me because I've heard people use these six words against me. Yes, I'm creative, but it's because I practice. It's because I'm not afraid to take risks and try something new. This section made me realize that I need to share more about my failures in the classroom. It's taken a lot of failure and mistakes to get where I am now. The last six years has not always been easy. Turns out I can "fake it until I make it." My colleagues are none the wiser, but they should be... 
• "If your students didn't have to be there, would you be teaching in an empty room?" When I taught history, I know that some students would show. Teaching broadcast, I've heard on the regular that students come to school for my class. If I ever go back to teaching history, I would really challenge myself to make my social studies class like my broadcasting class. 
• If you don't read the whole book, please check out part two, the "hooks" section. Dave covers thirty-two different thematic hooks with multiple ideas for each. This part is helpful for new teachers, to give them ideas, and for experienced teachers, to encourage them to refresh their curriculum. 

I am quite glad that I finished reading this book. It cemented a lot about what I've already done, and what I currently do, as a classroom teacher. It also pushed me to continue to grow and learn so that I can fulfill my promise that I made in my phone interview for Skyview nine years ago... "I am a good teacher, but someday, I'm going to be a great teacher. You want me on your staff."

Thanks for reading. I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

Why digital portfolios?

Good morning colleagues!

I totally had another blog post planned and written, when I had an interesting conversation with a colleague over e-mail on Friday. It was apparent, through the e-mail, that the teacher was incredibly stressed about helping their students with digital portfolios. Our district decided to implement digital portfolios, this year, using Google Sites. My principal started with a rotation where all teachers ended up in a lab, or with a Chromebook cart, to help their students create the skeleton of their digital portfolio.

I had a meeting with my principal a couple of weeks ago where another colleague and I insisted that yes, the staff could quickly get one item on all of their students' portfolios before STUDENT-LED parent-teacher conferences on February 15th and 16th. That's still four weeks away... that is entirely possible. I will admit that I told my principal to mandate it. I did. I'll own the teachers' frustration, but it's because I believe in digital portfolios.

Now some colleagues may be reading this post, gritting their teeth, thinking, "Rachel. Stay in your lane. Stick to what you know -  technology." I don't believe in digital portfolios just because the students are using Google Sites. I support creating digital portfolios because it gives students a straightforward way to demonstrate voice and choice!

I believe in student choice and voice, and I back growth (versus fixed) mindset. It can be incredibly challenging to give up control of your classroom, give students options, and try to get them to change how they see school. I honestly feel like digital portfolios is a great start to all three! Students get to design their portfolio how they see fit, and they get to add what THEY want to their portfolio. They can choose to showcase a test, a project, or an essay. It's whatever they think best demonstrates their growth for the year.

What's been troublesome for our staff is that the "buy-in" part did not go over well. Teachers didn't see the point of doing digital portfolios. Based on what I heard, people thought it was one more thing, and it would just go away. It seemed as though they couldn't fathom portfolios becoming seamless with their curriculum. Does it take time away from class to have students put work on their portfolio? Of course. Does their work become meaningful when you not only give them time to place work on their portfolio but also thought-provoking questions to reflect upon their work? YES. I could continue to blog on and on about why digital portfolios are essential, but I'm going to let Global Digital Citizen Foundation do the work for me.

What has also been problematic for the staff is the lack of training. I've realized, over the last six months, why I was so good for the job I currently have: I'm not afraid to push a button to see what happens, I'm not worried that I'll mess up the technology, and I'm quite good at using Google. Apparently, this is not normal! Who knew?! So in this meeting with my principal, where I somehow managed to throw my colleagues under the bus, I also offered to provide training needed for the staff. I created a Google Form that asked what my colleagues needed and even asked when they wanted to meet. Seems good in theory right? Only 14 teachers filled it out. So this afternoon I'm going to make my training materials for those fourteen teachers. I have a starting place :)

Digital portfolios are nothing but good for students. I even did a little research on pros and cons, and this is the best I could find. I think digital portfolios are useful for teachers as well. I started a digital portfolio this past summer and have been continuously updating it. As an introvert, I don't share a lot about myself verbally. I've realized that I share a lot more about myself online. It's pretty humorous that I see less risk in sharing who I am with strangers than with the people I see every day at work. It's because I'm not "putting myself out there"... I'm not having to open my heart and be vulnerable. My digital portfolio is a window into who I am, what I like, what I'm reading, and what my students are doing.

The end game, in our district, is that students will start their portfolios in kindergarten which will follow them through twelfth grade. That is a lofty goal but is one that I think is possible. Seriously think about it. How cool when they graduate that they have this thing that demonstrates their growth and learning over thirteen years. And this thing can help them get into vocational training, college, or get a job. It may be nerdy, but I just think that's neat! Purposeful learning.

Thanks for reading. I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

#oneword2018

Welcome back, colleagues! How are we feeling after the first week back? Are you chugging coffee? Do you have a headache? Are you hoping for your first snow day of the year?

As I INHALE my coffee this morning, I'm reflecting on last year and setting goals for this year. Last year, my #oneword was self-care. I was really struggling with my then job. I was over-working myself, so I was not taking care of myself. I was having quite a go and found myself interviewing for jobs for three years. It made sense, then, that I needed to take care of myself. Thus I began blogging about self-care. It helped. It really helped that I got a new job (and desperately needed change), but I discovered how to relax and what I needed to do to take care of myself.

It was evident that my #oneword2017 was complete and I needed to pick a new word for the year. Which one did I come up with?

I've always been a pessimist, "negative Nancy." I am cynical. I look at a situation and scoff. I make jokes when I'm uncomfortable and make others laugh, at inappropriate times, when sitting in meetings. I'm the "bad" kid that people don't see coming. I know in this new position that I need to be better - I need to just, and I quote, "Look on the bright side of life." So how do I do this? How can I be more positive?

I can't promise that I will behave during meetings or when I'm uncomfortable. That's asking a lot of me.

But I need to find positives every day that can help me more optimistic and thankful for the good things that happen. I was inspired to do this when, of all things, I was trolling Buzzfeed. You know, sometimes, I just need to take another quiz to remind me that I AM a Gryffindor! Anyway, I was reading about new years resolutions and getting organized when I stumbled across a post about bullet journals. In my definition, a bullet journal is a way to quickly journal every day. You make it personal to you, whether you are tracking habits, food, health, or you need to vent or you want to doodle each day. It's keeping a diary but without a ton of writing each day. That's what makes a bullet journal something desirable to me... it doesn't take a lot of time or effort. I don't have time for that!

So I am committing myself to "journaling" once a day. Most of the time it will be me sketchnoting something positive that happened that day. It won't be much doodling as I love writing in different scripts with a variety of pen colors. It doesn't have to be anything significant - just something funny, cute, or happy that happened. The other day, for example, I was e-mailing a teacher back and forth about a student and parent. In the end, I e-mailed a rolling eye gif. That was the entire e-mail. How it became positive was when the teacher made a point to find me after school to tell me how funny she thought it was.








That's a positive!

Thanks for reading. I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

Getting the most from Chromebooks

Good morning on a FINALLY sunny day in Colorado Springs! There are good vibes around me because our school received two new Chromebook carts this week. It's always a good day when new technology shows up in the building!

Half of my job is teaching students about broadcasting, but the other half of my job, being a "technology specialist" is supporting teachers in the use of educational technology. My technology specialist position has been pretty quiet... teachers may be using technology, but they are not asking for support. I keep telling myself that it is the first quarter and this year the teachers are completely inundated and overwhelmed.

I am not the type of teacher who sits idly by and doesn't cherish and use the gift of time that I'm given. So I've been trying to think of new ways to get teachers to use Chromebooks, iPads, and desktop PCs. In my last five years as a 1:1 teacher, I've had many conversations about the use of technology in the classroom. Many teachers shy away from because of a few reasons:

1) They do not know how to use an application and want to learn before the students in order to model while also keeping control of the class. Because they don't have time to learn the technology, they do not use it. I've realized that part of my job is supporting teachers in the use of the application. This can be done through a screencast or YouTube tutorial. 

2)  They do not know how to use an application, and even if it looks cool, they do not know how to apply it to their content. This prevents them from creative insight which helps think outside the box. I started putting together a spreadsheet of ways to use various web applications with the four core contents to help promote innovative thinking. 

This document is still a work in progress (it is woefully incomplete).

Until teachers start using me as a resource, I will use my time to create documents like this to get teachers to use my time! :) I hope that more teachers will come to me to think through their unit and use technology applications. I said this before, but my principal's goal was to have every student access technology once a week. This can happen as long as teachers are bringing Chromebooks and iPads into the classroom (or are going to the lab).

Thanks for reading. We go on FALL BREAK next weekend, so I'll see you in three weeks!

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

Apple Teacher Training

Welcome to your first three-day weekend, colleagues!

On Friday I put on my first training as the technology specialist in the building! My principal wants me to work with non-1:1 teachers in the building, but right now, the 1:1 teachers do not have a technology instructional coach nor have they received any training. Even though I'm not "supposed" to work with the iPad teachers, I don't want to leave them in the dark. I was in that position for the last five years, and I still see myself as an iPad teacher.

After a bi-monthly meeting with my principal in which I told her about the lack of support for the 1:1 teachers, she asked me what I could do to help. I offered to run a training for new iPad teachers, but that conversation turned into outlining a session for all iPad teachers. Together we felt that it was essential for our 1:1 teachers to be highly qualified in their technology use in the building. The first step was to have the teachers demonstrate their proficiency through the Apple Teacher training.

I recognized that I needed to become an Apple Teacher first. This was, surprisingly, easier than I thought. I started with the Mac badges first, then completed the iPad badges. It took me around two hours to complete all sixteen badges. There were some tricky questions built in, but because I've used Macs and iPads for quite some time, I knew the answers or guessed efficiently.

As I took the assessments, I followed along with Apple's iBook materials and designed a "cheat sheet" for my colleagues. The cheat sheet didn't have any answers to the exam questions but instead prompted them through what they need to know HOW to do. So yesterday, at 8 am, my 1:1 colleagues came into my classroom to take exams. Armed with their iPads, Macs, and coffee, they got down to business. I wasn't really sure how much I needed to guide them. I had them open the cheat sheet, walked them through the first part (iPad starter guide), and had them begin the first exam. I told them that they could work at their own pace and just let me know when they had questions.

What's funny is that most of them finished in a decent amount of time, but then decided to take the Mac badges as well (not required). Some of them even decided to take their level 1 Google Educator exam! On the feedback survey, the teachers all agreed that it was a good use of their time, they appreciated that it was iPad focused training, and they all agreed that they want further training and collaboration time. Sounds like a win to me!

Thanks for reading. I'll see you in two weeks :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

"In these trying times..."

Good morning colleagues! I am sitting on my parents' couch, back in Iowa, drinking a cup of coffee on a terribly foggy morning. I am in town for my nephew's graduation from high school... my nephew who was born when I was a little freshman in high school. I'm just getting all the feels!



My nephew attended a local public high school (of course, rival to my high school - Go J-Hawks!) that went through some notable public turmoil over the last two years. As a teacher, I was blown away by what happened. As a former resident, I didn't know the principal or the entire situation, but I knew enough to know that his forced resignation was devastating to the students. He was someone that built relationships with EVERY SINGLE STUDENT in the building of 1600 kids.. The class of 2017 made a decision about their graduation celebration - they did not want to hear a speech from the superintendent, but instead wanted to hear from the people they loved and admired. The students led the graduation, had the interim principal and counselors speak, and they voted on a keynote speaker. The class of 2017 chose Stacey Walker, Washington alum, and the current Linn County District 2 Supervisor.

This is Stacey Walker. Unfortunately, I had to steal this image from Twitter because there is NOT a creative commons sourced image of him! This is not at all surprising as he is from Iowa. *begin sarcasm font* Nobody famous is from Idawahio, right? *end sarcasm font* As I am sitting in the LONGEST graduation I have ever sat through to support my nephew (and I'm silently making fun of the teachers sitting next to the graduates), this man gets up to speak. My niece and I look at his speech and immediately roll our eyes. It is two pages long, single spaced, with what looks like 10 point font.

But when he opened his mouth, my niece said, "He sounds like Barack Obama!" And that he did. I was instantly engaged, impressed, and inspired! What blew me away, even more, was that he graduated from high school in 2006 FOUR YEARS after me.

Even though I have one day left of just teacher check-out, I wanted to inspire the rest of you through your remaining school year. I want this speech to remind you WHY you teach and HOW you influence and motivate your students every day.

This opportunity has caused me to revisit my formative years. Not just those glorious four years I spent in high school, but the time leading up to it as well. I was born to a single mother who raised me and my younger sister on the southeast side of Cedar Rapids... These were the places others referred to as the ghetto. We relied on food stamps and food drives, and other welfare programs just to get by... When (my mother) left that day, I would never see her again... After learning of her death, my sister and I went to live with our grandmother... I stand here today because she lived. 

It is important that I share my story with you this afternoon - the stories of the people whom I hold dear - because I hope you'll do it too one day. I hope that you will pay homage to those in your life - parents, teachers, mentors, coaches, and friends - who helped to get you to this point. No one can do it alone. We all had a little help getting here, and we all will need a whole lot more going forward. 

When you go from place to place, you will be encouraged by friends and caring adults to pursue noble careers... However, I implore you: seek the path that sets your soul on fire. Pursue your truth and your passions, and do good by others in the process, and surely, your life will be one of purpose and satisfaction... (w)e should recommend career paths that align with our values and our passions...

How do we make this happen... The answer is you. All 278 graduating seniors are here today and your peers across the country will soon have the opportunity to put your smarts and your energy to good use and make an impact on your community... Your partisan affiliation will never matter as much as the content of your character. What matters most is what's in your heart.

In these trying times, you are the greatest hope for a better future... We will rely on your curiosity and idealism which will lead to great discovery... This work is difficult. But no one here is asking for a break. That's not what Warriors do. We don't pray for easier lives. We pray to be made stronger women and men. We don't seek easy answers or cliched wisdom. Instead, we seek the challenge of the impossible...  

There is more work to be done in this imperfect world, and we're all relying on you. Let your thoughts - the chief glory of man - and your heart - the vital organ of morality - light your path, forever. 

Go forth, dream big, work hard, and change this world for the better.

"Be the change." I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

You gave students choice... and it bombed...

  

...now what? It's time for a reflection.

My co-worker and I just finished our cross-curricular project, and boy has it been a unit! We were quite euphoric with how it turned out, and were glad that the project was more of a success than we anticipated. One thing is nagging at the back of my brain - how did giving students choice work? Was THAT successful?

To answer that question, I am going to jump into "story time" and travel back to last summer. Right before the school year began, I attended a GAFE (Google Apps for Education) conference here in Colorado Springs. I was pushed by many of the attendees and presenters (in a good way) to update and elevate my curriculum this current school year. The big "buzz word" was choice: giving students a choice in your classroom. And I believe it, and I believe in it, so I tried to provide my students with choice (to give them a voice). It was a complete and utter failure.

Sometimes I wonder why teachers and teacher bloggers don't talk more about their failures, and, when giving advice, don't always talk about what might go wrong. I feel like I had a preconceived and naive belief about how choice and flexibility would transform my classroom. I would liken this to all the feels that teachers get when watching Robin Williams' speech in A Dead Poet's Society.

That was going to be my classroom this year... I was wrong. What I failed to take into account, and what I was never pushed to question, was who the students were that I had coming into my classroom. My students had eight years of traditional schooling. Often times, in my own opinion, I did not see rigor and high expectations in their previous classes. Students, in the past, did not have the option to make their own choices and did not have the capacity and maturity to make wise decisions on their own. This led to a very rough beginning to the school year (no Robin Williams moments here!) and a lot of reflection about what best meets my students' needs.

So... I gave my students choice... and it bombed. What are the next steps?

Number one: don't give up! So it didn't work this time. Why didn't it work? Figure that out, then don't do that again. It is okay to fail, but do not punish your students if the failure is one you.

Number two: figure out what your students need. Many options or open flexibility can be overwhelming if it has never been an option before. I know that when I start my next school year, I need to survey the students about their previous schooling. This will then drive HOW I teach in my classroom. I can decide how much choice I offer from the start.

Number three: start small to large. Start by giving your students two or three possibilities (not unlimited), then expand from there. I run a more project-based class so I can start with open selection when it comes to a type of project (Slides, Explain Everything, iMovie), then over time, students can have a choice when it comes to topics and content. Ideally, by the end of the year, the students have complete discretion in the classroom to display their voice.

Number four: take your time. If you realize that students still don't have the maturity to have choice, then do not give them that option. Make sure they are ready to move to the next step. Do not set up your students to fail.

As I said at the beginning, now that I've done this big project at the end of the year, was giving choice beneficial?

Yes! 

It was due to my failures at the beginning of the year and reflecting upon WHY there was failure. It was also dependent on me slowly adding in more choice as the year went on. I also feel like we gave students good options when it came to historical figures and project presentation options for this unit. 

Was it perfectly successful? No, not quite. Both my colleague and I learned a lot doing this project for the first time and have discussed changes that we will make. We still saw students choose the easy options, and I still need to figure out why they didn't want to push themselves. 

But I can see how choice works in my classroom and am excited to see it work even better next year. Keep the faith! Thanks for reading. I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website