Courage Doesn't Always Roar: A Teacher's Quest to Be Better Each Day

Last week, Dr. Mary Howard posted this on Facebook. My initial response, which I wrote as a comment, was this:    I also dislike public shaming systems but I've used Class Dojo and don't find it to be like that. I don't publicly display the points. I've tied the dojo dollars into a class economy where kids get paychecks and can purchase brain break coupons or the  right to sit in the rocking chair at reading time. Paychecks were given privately so students weren't aware of how many points the others received. I did give a certificate to the high dojo scorer of the week and many times it was a student who put forth a lot of effort, despite academic challenges. Class dojo makes it easy to be in touch with the parents and send them pictures and class happenings in real time. They also have a great video series on growth mindset that my students enjoyed and sparked good discussions. There is no public shaming in my classroom and class dojo has been a positive  wa...

Crafting Digital Media is such an important topic because I think our students are really looking for opportunities to create! I am still in the early stages of learning how to do this myself, so I think I've held the reigns on crafting digital media, sometimes not allowing my students to do the creating part. For example, we used a green screen through the app Doink for our persuasive speeches last year (third grade). I took the video of the students talking and I did the work of creating the new background through the app. I learned a lot! But did the students? This year, I would like to "let it go" (Thanks, Elsa) and teach my students how to do more of the digital creating. Part of teaching them how to craft digital media is also modeling and showing them possibilities. As I prepare for a new school year, one task is to send home a letter introducing myself, asking for supplies, and communicating about the year ahead. I decided to make a Google slide presentation ...

In Teach Like a Pirate  (2012), Dave Burgess asks, " Do you want to be great ?" (145). He goes on to say, " Could it be that wanting to be great seems egotistical or selfish? Let's destroy that idea right away. First of all, your greatness in the classroom doesn't negatively impact or inhibit anyone else's opportunity to be great. This isn't a zero sum game. The pie is infinitely huge. In fact, your greatness only enhances the opportunities and possibilities for others. By being great, you are raising the bar and providing a model for others to emulate. Being your best possible self contributes to the school culture necessary to create the environment for greatness to flourish " (145-146).   Do you want to be great? This is the conversation I've been having with some educators I admire, educators who are shining lights in the field. I've been thinking about Dave Burgess' ideas around this topic. He writes, " To ascend to the leve...

Thank you to Margaret Simon for bringing us together to share our thoughts on Digital Literacy on Sundays!  My new third grade students will be heading back to the classroom in one month, as school officially starts on September 6th. While one month can feel like a long time away, I'm starting to slightly panic that time is running out for me to learn all I wanted to this summer and jumpstart my planning and preparation for the new year! Last year was my second year teaching third grade (after many years teaching kindergarten and previously 6th grade). I tried many digital tools last year, and this year I want to refine what I've been doing, teach the tools more purposefully and provide more consistent use of digital tools to increase student agency and engagement.  Here are a few ideas I have: Begin the year with launching a shared class blog through our class website: Last year, I launched our class hub , thanks to what I learned from Cathy Mere in #cyberPD. This ...

I am no saint, although, rumor has it, they did play the song "Goody Two Shoes" for me when it was my turn to light a candle at a friend's Sweet Sixteen many years ago. I might have had that reputation. Now, at 37 years old, I am not claiming to be perfect by any stretch of the imagination. Many areas need improvement. But, the one thing I can say about myself, unequivocally, is I am not mean. I never deliberately try to hurt anyone and can't imagine trying to inflict pain. Yet, I've come face to face, as most of us have, with people who act, well, mean.  Why? How do you get an ounce of joy knowing your words and actions caused someone heartache? What part of you delights in hurting someone, maybe even someone who trusts you and has been vulnerable with you? What went wrong in your life that being mean feels okay and acceptable to you? We teach our students about being "bucket fillers" who help other people get filled with joy and love. We say bein...

Today feels slumpy.  Worries heavy on my mind Fear twists my stomach.  Every news story breaks my heart. And frightens me. I want to unslump myself. Sunshine,  blue skies, smiles on my children's faces.  The coconut smell of sunscreen. A sweet berry smoothie. Light and hope.  Faith and love. Hoping the gray suffocating  clouds of slump Give way to blue skies, fresh air, renewed energy to try again. 

"Where's Alex?" I asked, as I finished applying my daughter Megan's sunscreen. We had just arrived at our town pool, but Alex was out of sight.   Then I saw him, his white rash guard swim shirt catching my eye. He was all the way by the pool, about to go in. Jump in. His tan face relaxed and happy, he exuberantly yelled, "CANNONBALL!" as he splashed into the water.  He came up, laughing, wiping away the water from his eyes, then diving under again. Sure, I'd seen him improve a lot in his private swim lessons, but those were one on one with an instructor and a pool full of children with their instructors. This was a whole new situation- where he was applying his learning independently and joyfully, without any scaffolding or support.  I thought back to last summer, when we took a family trip to the suburbs of Chicago to visit my husband's brother and his family. They had a lovely pool for the children to swim, but Alex was petrified. He stood ...

"...Sometimes we come last but we did our best. I won't give up, I won't give in.  Till I reach the end, then I'll start again.  No, I won't leave.  I want to try everything.  I want to try even though I could fail."  -"Try Everything", Zootopia theme song Comfort zones are, well, comfortable. Safe. Secure. Risk-free. Doing what you've always done can be quite appealing, when the flip-side is trying something new and unfamiliar. Yet.  My greatest moments of growth, of making memories, of becoming more than I thought I could be, the moments that changed the trajectory of my life- have always occurred OUTSIDE of my comfort zone. The moments where I was scared and uncomfortable, where a deep breath was needed and a leap of faith was taken.  This summer has presented me with a few opportunities that are exciting...but frightening. Dreams of mine possibly coming true, pushing myself to grow as a teacher and presen...

Summer is shrugging off the school year stress like a cardigan that is no longer necessary.  Summer is trading in my work bags full of lessons, papers, and memos for beach bags full of superhero towels, sunscreen, and flip flops.  Summer is nights on the screened in porch and books just for fun, quiet except for the hum of the ceiling fan.  Summer is pool passes and camp schedules, library visits and play dates. Summer is our backyard swing and sitting with my two children, talking about nothing...and everything. Summer is blowing bubbles and sidewalk chalk, fireflies and fireworks.  Summer is a late dinner on the water, fancy drinks, no regrets.  Summer is peaches and cherries, watermelon and pineapples. Summer is the smell of barbecues and red, white, and blue dresses, flags waving.  Summer is freedom. Summer is renewal. Summer is here! 

Goodbyes hang in the air when it's the last week of school. The rip of tape being pulled from the wall echoes as pictures and displays come down, revealing bare walls. Notebooks are stuffed in backpacks, unused workbooks are debated- should they be sent home or thrown out? All the places where students' names hung, showing their partnerships, or their writing, or their class jobs- all of these are taken down. No more names now.  Some of the children are like puppies inside a gate, just waiting for the lock to be opened and to run with the freedom of summer. Not all children. Some feel a sadness and worry that school is ending, the structure, the stability, the knowledge that breakfast and lunch appear each day.  We bring to a conclusion a year full of learning. Sometimes with a test and not much else. Sometimes with a celebration, bagels and books and numbers held high showing how much reading happened.  When it's the last week of school, it's your last time to...