These Boots Are NOT Made For Walking

I teach in a school in a Northern state, but usually we do not get snow until at least November.  We'll get a dusting around Thanksgiving, for example, but our first serious snowfalls don't start until December or January.

Well, this past Wednesday we actually got a dusting of snow in the middle of October.  As I drove to work, I watched the little bits of snow turn to water when they hit the ground.  It didn't last more than an hour at the most and there wasn't any significant accumulation.

However, you would have thought the world had come to a screeching halt as far as the kids were concerned!

"Mrs. Gumby...snow!", announced a young student as he walked into the school.

"That's the first snow I've ever seen!", said a new student from Bangladesh. Etc., etc., etc.

As I stood just inside the entrance to the school fulfilling my weekly hall duty requirement, I started noticing the footwear on children's feet.  Yes, I started seeing pair after pair of snow boots!  (Hello, people!  It was just a dusting of snow!  There is no reason to send your students to school with snow boots on their feet in October!)

All day long I passed children clomping down the halls.  Clomp. Clomp. Clomp.  I saw pink boots, sparkly boots, Ugg boots, heavy duty boots with snaps, etc.

Sigh.  These boots were NOT made for walking!!  Please leave them at home.

Clomp. Clomp. Clomp.

Remembering the Beginning

For Aunt J

May the Lord hold you in the palm of His hand

Recently, I was standing in the copy room at school making my copies for the next week.  I tend to do my copying and prep after school so it was probably about 5 o'clock.  I copied, folded, assembled and stapled my booklets.  

We have a new Kindergarten teacher who teaches at a different school in the morning and our school in the afternoon.  She's a first year "newbie" teacher.  Miss Kindergarten walked into the copy room with some papers and started inserting them into the laminator next to the copiers.  

I smiled at her and asked how things were going with her. We chatted for a while and she told me she was hanging in there.  I told her I remembered my first year of teaching and how exhausting it was.  I told her to just keep on going, to take it a day at a time, to keep good files on what she found to be successful and that next year would be SO much better!  

She looked at me for a long time and then finally said, "Thank you.  Thank you for remembering what it was like when you first started teaching.  I wish other people were like that and could remember when they were a first year teacher."  

I thought she was going to cry for a minute.  But then she got a big smile on her face and thanked me again.  

You know, we all need to remember what it was like when we're first starting something new.  We need to take the time to reach out and encourage someone who's new.  When I first started teaching thirty years ago (yes, I am a veteran teacher), my Aunt "J" was ready to retire from elementary teaching. 

I visited her at her farm and she said to me, "Come on.  I have something for you."  

She went into a room at the front of her house where she stored things and came out with a large box.  She handed it to me and said, "Here. I know you're starting out and I think this will help." 

I opened the box and found lots of bulletin board items and seasonal decorations.  Many of the bulletin board items were hand drawn and colored!  (I was quite amazed at my aunt's artistic talents!)  I remember a very cool Tony the Tiger, a funny Christmas Elf, a big lion head, a jack-in-the-box and several others.

I was able to use many of them for a number of years before they finally wore out.  And...every time I used one of them, I thought again of the kindness of my aunt in sharing her teaching supplies with me.

So, today I challenge you to find someone new and take some time to go and talk with them.  Encourage them and show a little kindness.   

It's worth it.       

Shhhhh...don't say "common core"!

There are several ESL(English as a Second Language) or ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) blogs I follow.  One is Fun to Teach ESL.  The author, Lori, posted a good link to a TESOL publication about Common Core Standards.  Here is the brief Lori linked to:

Overview of the 
Common Core State
Standards Initiatives for ELLs

It is well worth reading, especially for anyone involved in teaching English Language Learners.  Thank you, Lori, for posting it.

If you are not familiar with the Common Core Standards, here is a brief statement on what they are from Defining the Core:

"The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are the culmination of an extended, broad-based effort to fulfill the charge issued by the states to create the next generation of K-12 standards in order to help ensure that all students are college and career ready no later than the end of high school. This is one of the most important changes in education in the United States in the last fifty years and stands to positively affect students, parents, teachers, communities, and the workforce as we take a firm grasp on what 21st century learning truly means."

And, here are a few more links to general information about Common Core Standards

Edutopia

Common Core State Initiatives

and a blog entry from Patte Barth at the Huffington Post, The Common Core Standards:  Truths, Untruths and Ambiguities.

I don't have a problem with the Common Core Standards.  It makes sense to me to expect more rigorous educational standards for all students and I will do whatever I can to help my English Language Learners.  I served on a district third grade English Language Arts standards revision committee last year. We went through the third grade English Language Arts Common Core standards and mapped out a suggested pacing guide for each quarter of the school year for our third grade teachers.  Common Core is everywhere in education.  I see it cited on professional books from teacher stores, on items purchased  from Teachers Pay Teachers, and new textbooks, etc.

What really irritates me, though, is after several years of talking about the Common Core standards and how to use them, NOW we're told at school that we aren't supposed to call them the Common Core standards!!! Yes, we have curriculum night coming up on Wednesday evening, but we aren't allowed to refer to Common Core standards in our discussions with parents or on our handouts for the evening.  Our district leaders have informed us that we have to call them "[insert the name of my state here] New Learning Standards".

You say "Common Core Standards";  I have to say "Blank State New Learning Standards".

You say "Tomato";  I have to say "To-MAH-to".  Sigh.

E-"U"-phoria and e-X-ercise!

Along with my new larger classroom (that contains a window!!) I am getting some new furniture!  My ESL coordinator and facilitator put their heads together and surprised me with a new desk AND a U shaped table!   Thanks, ladies!

I know....why am I getting excited about a U shaped table???  Because they are great!  Unlike the usual school issue kidney table,  a U or horseshoe table has a deeper part for the teacher.  It's easier for the teacher to reach the students who are seated around the table.  I had one a couple of years ago at another school and missed it.   I had to look through some specialty catalogs for schools to find it, but I did.
 

Supposedly, my new table will be delivered by Tuesday at the latest!   Oh, "U" table...I love "U"!!

Now, if I could convince them to get a "flower" shaped table for Mrs. Pokey....

Or the really cool "amoeba" shaped tables she saw recently as a STEM school she visited!   When she came back from the STEM school visit, she kept talking about the "amoeba" tables they used with students sitting on exercise balls!  ( Boing, boing, boing!!!   I'm afraid my students would never stay in one place with exercise balls to sit on.  They would have great core strength and ab muscles, but it would drive me crazy!) 

Here's a link to an article about exercise balls as seats in elementary classrooms.  

Exercise balls in the classroom in the Chicago Tribune.

Hmmmmm.   I have some "squirrel-ly" students who might benefit from exercise balls, though. Perhaps Mrs. Pokey and I may have to look into writing a grant proposal this year for exercise balls so we can try them out.   Boing, boing, boing....