Will Gourley First Week Reflections, General, Inspiring Students, Inspiring Teachers, Learning About Your Students, Start of the year

It’s like September all over again

via izquotes.com
via izquotes.com

Have you ever walked into a classroom and did a double take? Trying to gather your bearings, did it feel as if you’d been in that exact same spot and the very same moment before? I know it’s happened to me and wonder if other educators feel this way?

Returning to the classroom in September can be like this. The faces are different, maybe even the school, but there are connective currents running through time and space that signal you’ve been there before. I am reminded of a hall of fame quote by Yogi Berra, “It’s déjà vu all over again.”

This September, I started at my 4th school in 9 years. I could not be more thrilled joining a new family of learners and educators. Of course, I miss my old schools, but as I’ve written before, we have to move on to grow in our professional practice. This year was no exception, even after 3 amazing years at my former school.

Unsurprisingly, since the first bell on Day 1, things have been occurring at the speed of learning. Meeting my students/families, observing them interact, and watching them navigate our classroom for the first time. I’m never sure who is more anxious on the first day, parents, students or me?

To this teacher, the first week of school is like a three-way collision between energy, ideas, and awkwardness. I love walking into a new building and asking students to help me learn directions and routines. On more than one occasion, a student will ask, “Aren’t you supposed to know this?” I reply, “Maybe, but it’s more fun to ask. I’m new.”

What I’ve seen over my  first 9 Septembers

After 9 first days of school, some things have not changed. September is a time when everyone is (re)acquiring their routines and rhythms. Everyone is trying to put their best foot forward – almost. Depending on their Summer, the most reticent learners and educators might still require an extra week or 2 to get up to speed. We need to avoid the rush to establish out of reach expectations. There have been a couple of years where I struggled to find my groove. I have found that the first few weeks are like a contract negotiation. Everyone is trying to get what they want out of the deal, and it takes time to hammer them out.

Each year I enter our, not my, classroom with complete trust that students are there to be awesome. Empowering them and presuming best intentions have always been great places to launch an important year together. Bringing students into the conversation and decision-making process, from the start, allows for long-term success based on understanding and mutual respect.

This happens in our classroom in a number of ways across a number of days.  Students are asked to take chances, make mistakes, and be unafraid to fail. It asks us all to become comfortable with discomfort, feeling safe when vulnerable, and knowing everyone is respected and valued. If a space for this has not been created in my classroom, then there will be a risk of starting off on the wrong foot. Taking the time to create a consistent and caring class culture will ensure a cohesive committed community for the whole year.

What I did over the Summer

As a kid, it seemed that every start of the year writing assignment was a retelling of my summer. This was usually followed up with a presentation in front of the class. I am not sure whether this was an act of sadism or masochism for the teachers who assigned the task, and then had to listen as each one was shared. All I remember is that the act of recalling my summers and the subsequent in-class attention were boring for me too.

As I enter the classroom, I vowed to change this. I have asked students to share what they’ve regretted about their Summer, or what they would do over and change. We hold off on “presentating” in favour of peer sharing where volunteers are asked to read a few highlights that stand out after reading their classmates’ work. I’ve found that using 6 Words Stories as a great introduction exercise.

This year I had students write their own and then write one for their seat partner. *

Build flexibility into your planning

Beware of over planning. Yes, some planning must be done. Preparation is important, but a measured approach is best. Over planning  has been, and continues to be a mistake I make. However, when plans go uncompleted or go off course, I am not going to count it as a loss. There needs to be time built into our work for the second and third questions. Sometimes students have more questions than we have answers. Yes, it takes away time from your plans, but the relationship building established through it will become invaluable going forward. Give yourself permission to go off script. The students will appreciate the spontaneity.

Noise

As part of classroom routines and noise management, I have heard classics from, “Hands on top. That means stop.” to “Un, deux, trois, les yeux sur moi.” These work well with JK/SK and primary classes, but tend to aggravate the more sophisticated learners in the Junior Panel.

I use a number of noise makers, ranging from a wood block shaped like a pig, a rain stick, and a guira Each is strategically placed about the room to access as needed. They are used to draw students back from their independent or team work. I also have a spot in the class where I will wait for students to come back to hear further instruction or feedback.

Another ‘attention-getter’ to consider is something shared by Paul Solarz called “Give me 5!” I love the power this places in students hands along with the responsibility to be relevant and engaging as they capture the room to share their ideas.

Having a wide variety of tools in the kit have allowed each of my 9 first days of school to begin memorably and effectively. Of course there are bumps and tweaks to be made along the way, but that ads to the joy of the job. As each year brings us a unique set of lives to discover, equip, and watch flourish.

Thank you for reading this post. I look forward to sharing with you again this year. If you have any questions about the resources or strategies shared please message me below.

*Which 6 words would you use to share your story? Feel free to share in the comments section.

Arianna Lambert General

Musings Of A New(ish) Teacher On The First Days Of The School Year

Happy first week back to school! This past Tuesday marked the beginning of my 9th year of teaching and I still feel a little bit like a newbie. Like many, I struggled with falling – and staying – asleep on Monday night.

Every year I think that it will somehow be a little different and that I will get used to the feeling of the first day of school for another year, but I haven’t so far. Being at a new school this year, I knew that my students were probably wondering about me and feeling just as nervous about our first few days together. As with any new encounter, I tried to stick to three things this week: observe & listen; get to know names; and engage.

Observe & Listen

I’m learning more and more that there is great power in pausing, observing and actively listening. This is true in many areas of life but especially when working with students. On our first day together, we participated in the cup challenge where students use string and an elastic band to build towers out of plastic cups. While I could have walked them through all of the steps to successfully build their tower with ease, it was really powerful to stay back and observe as the activity demanded that they use problem solving to succeed. And they did it! It was so refreshing to see as teams graduated from not knowing how they were going to build their towers without hands, to asking for the next challenge. I listened and stepped in when I knew that a group was just bordering on frustration to offer a little advice. During this activity, I saw some of my more introverted students speak up to offer their ideas whereas in larger groups, they may not have been so bold. I also observed a couple students who were quiet on the sidelines for a few minutes observing what was happening and excitedly jumped in with a solution. When we debriefed at the end of our challenge, students spoke of the skills that they used to accomplish the task – perseverance, respectful speech, compromise and teamwork – and how these skills would help us in being successful this year. Being a facilitator in the classroom rather than the sage on the stage has afforded me the opportunity to learn with and from my students. As an educator, I need to keep in mind that when I pause, observe and listen to my students, I’m able to notice what they say and also what they don’t say which sometimes speaks much louder.

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Get To Know Names

Day 1 is always a challenge for me. I strongly believe that our names are a part of our identities and should be honoured. Not knowing how to pronounce a name or calling a student the wrong name is something that I worry about doing. Over the years, I’ve learned that there is no shame in a name tag for our desks – at least for the first couple of days. I decided that this year we would do a STE(A)M Challenge that I saw online. Students were asked to create their name tags with the following criteria:

  • Had to stand up
  • Had to be visible from 4 meters away
  • Have a movable part
  • Describe 2 things about themselves

I was inspired by what students created and the interplay between fun and learning. From pulley systems to wheels and items that popped-up, my students got creative and it was a great way of connecting to how they wanted to be identified. I posted our work on Twitter and I was amazed at how many other teachers gave the challenge a try with their students. No two name tags were the same and it spoke to the uniqueness of each of our students. I think it’s imperative that we engage students in activities that allow for who they are and what they enjoy to come to life.

Screenshot 2017-09-10 at 7.10.58 PM Screenshot 2017-09-10 at 7.10.19 PM

Engage

How do you plan to fully engage a group of students who you have never met and whom you know nothing about? You select a variety of appropriate tasks, get them building and watch it unfold. During the first week of school, I always enjoy working on STE(A)M Challenges with students. I find that they help students to consider and use the Global Competencies: Critical Thinking & Problem Solving; Innovation, Creativity & Entrepreneurship; Learning to Learn / Self-Aware and Self-Directed Learning; Collaboration, Communication; and Global Citizenship.

Present a problem or a challenge and it’s amazing to see how students engage in the problem using these skills. With our challenges this week, I asked students to consider:

  • How did you complete the task?
  • Did the task become easier after some practice? Why or why not?
  • What did you and/or your group struggle with? How were you able to overcome?
  • What skills did you need to make this activity successful?

Although we met with some failure in our challenges, I would say that I’m grateful that I have the opportunity to work with an amazingly reflective group of students who realized that even though they struggled initially, they showed collaboration and resilience while problem solving.

While I feel as though the first week was a great success, I know that there are areas that could have gone better. I look forward to trying again tomorrow as we begin a new week and reconnecting with students.

Deb Weston agency, Challenging Topics, Constant Learning, General, Inspiring Teachers, Making a Difference Through Education, Mentorship, Professional Judgement, Professional Learning and Growth, Resilience, self reflection, wellness

Getting Past “The 5 Year Wall”

wall peek

As a new elementary teacher, I believed I would really know what I was doing after 5 years of practice. After 5 years in my previous careers, I could handle just about anything. I had 8 years experience as a student in elementary school. And, yes, I had watched my elementary teachers teach. I thought, “How hard can it be?” I figured after 5 years of teaching, working long hours after and on weekends, I’d be able to relax a bit.

But back then, I was very naive.

There was a lot about teaching I did not know or even consider. I did not count on having to switch grade levels every year for the first 5 years of my practice. I thought I’d have readily available teacher resources. I did not know that teachers spent a great deal of their own money to stock their classrooms with supplies and books. Nor did I realize I would be expected to implement waves of educational initiatives within a year of introduction. Further, I had not considered having students functioning at grade levels below the grade I was teaching or dealing with special education needs with little or no support. In addition, I did not know how to deal with students who had behaviour issues – in my first week of teaching grade 8, a student threw a chair at me. I also was hoping to get support and mentorship from my teacher colleagues, which at the time was not always forthcoming. My teacher education had not prepared me for all of this.

So I pushed forward by working hard and doing the best for my students. I took courses that I thought would fill in some gaps, which helped a bit. I solicited curriculum support from my colleagues and spent a great deal of time talking to my peers about my classroom challenges. My colleagues were very helpful and I absorbed as much wisdom as I could from my tenured peers.

Then it happened. I hit “The 5 Year Wall”. After 5 years of teaching, I thought I’d know more and feel more effective in my practice. I thought my lesson plans should be going the way I planned them. I thought that my classroom management would be awesome by this time. Instead, I was left with feelings of frustration and dissatisfaction in myself as a teacher. I thought, maybe if I worked harder, I would feel more effective; I was so disappointed in myself.

But because I was very committed and dedicated to becoming a great teacher, I moved forward facing many challenges. I continued to seek support and mentorship from my colleagues. My collaborative collegial support proved to have the biggest impact on my practice. My colleagues saved me from my professional dissolution.

Then something else happened. Around my 7th and 8th year of teaching, I started to feel my levels of self-efficacy and self-confidence rising. I started to finally feel like I knew what I was doing … most of the time. At 7+ years of teaching, I still faced challenges with switching grades. I realized that educational initiatives did not always stick. Lack of continued resource support or the introduction of a “new” initiative, often meant the end to last year’s latest innovation. Having students with multiple functioning levels and needs was a classroom norm. My teacher skin grew thicker when dealing with student and parent issues. I realized that lesson plans were made to be adapted to address the students’ needs, not the teachers. After 8 years of practice, I really started to enjoy teaching.

While researching, I discovered that my experience of building professional confidence and self-efficacy was supported in the literature. In the British VITAE study of 300 teachers in 100 schools, authors Day, Sammons, Stobart, Kingston, and Gu (2007) showed that teachers’ levels of confidence and self-efficacy continue to grow until around the 7 year mark. After 8 years, teachers reached a significant turning point in their professional development (Day et al., 2007).

I thought about what made this 7 year mark so significant. Then a friend mentioned that in the book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell stated that in order to master any skill  it takes “to a large extent, a matter of practicing … for a total of around 10,000 hours” (Gladwell, 2008).  I did the calculations and the 7 year mark correlated with about 10,000 hours of teaching practice. This made sense because teaching is a complex and challenging profession and as a result it takes over 7 years to develop high levels of professional efficacy. Further to this, as teachers’ professional knowledge grows, so does their professional judgement.

Well into my 8th year of teaching I noticed several new teachers experiencing high levels of professional frustration. Some of these teachers were so distressed they regretted becoming teachers. Some were thinking of leaving the profession. Remembering my own frustration, I reached out to my novice colleagues. I told them about The 5 Year Wall. In my following years of teaching, I have talked many novice teachers off the ledge of The 5 Year Wall. Sometimes there were tears. Sometimes there were daily pep talks. Sometimes there were weekly meetings at a well known coffee shop. After my years of collegial mentorship and support, my colleagues have become excellent teachers.

So if a new teacher talks to you about their professional frustration, tell them about The 5 Year Wall. Tell them to hang in for the next few years so they can reach their professional turning point in year 8. Support them with your mentorship and listen to their concerns. Because in isolation, there are no colleagues to inspire novice teachers with ideas or to suggest resources/strategies or to support them when it’s really needed. And even as an 18 year plus teacher, I thank my colleagues for all the mentorship, collaboration, and support they continue to give me, every day.

I believe that when working collaboratively, teachers are better together.

Collaboratively Yours,

Deb Weston

 

References

Day, C., Sammons, P., Stobart, G., Kingston, A., & Gu, Q. (2007). Teachers matter: Connecting lives, work and effectiveness. Maidenhead, UK: Open University

Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers: The story of success. Hachette UK.

Laura Bottrell General

A Beginning Teacher’s Journey: Part Three

I knew this day was coming and I’ve been preparing myself for quite a while, but it didn’t make my last day of school this year any easier. Sure, I’m excited for summer vacation but I had to say goodbye to the students, staff and school community that has taken over my time, my mind and my heart for the past year and a half.

Out of all the challenges of being a new teacher in an LTO position, this is the biggest challenge – being able to embrace change and say goodbye to something you love. IMG_1076

A good teacher teaches from the heart, and when you teach from the heart you become personally and emotionally invested in your students and your school. My students became like my very own kids this year. I gave them everything I had. I quickly grew to love them and they grew to love me. I invested endless energy into their success and wellbeing. I had a special bond with every one of them and made a point of being an important part of their lives. I had beautiful professional and personal relationships with my colleagues and I dedicated myself entirely to the school community. It became my home and I absolutely loved everything about it.

Yesterday was my last day at my school, as I will most likely be working elsewhere next year. My students showered me with goodbye cards, endless hugs and a lot of tears [many of them mine]. To be completely honest, I’m struggling with the feeling of loss. I feel like I’m leaving a huge piece of my heart behind, and I am – but that’s good teaching, right?

It will be hard for me not to get to watch my kids continue to grow and learn after our year together. I will wonder how they’re doing and who they grow up to be. I will worry about the ones that needed me the most, and miss being there to cheer them on.

The experience of being a new teacher and never really knowing where you’re headed next can be emotionally exhausting. As someone who doesn’t overly enjoy change, it can be difficult to not to let it get to me. I know that this is all part of the journey, and that with each new and different experience I have I will grow as a teacher and as a person. The prospect of starting new at a new school, and probably in a new grade is exciting, too. I have learned so much this year and can’t wait to put my new learning into action.

For now, I know I will spend a lot of time missing my students, my colleagues and being a part of an amazing school community.

And the [best?] part is, I will probably feel this way at the end of next year too.

 

Tammy Axt General

Time to hit the Recharge Button

After an insanely busy week of graduations, speech competitions and numerous performances to say goodbye, I am official exhausted. It is time to close up my classroom and go home and hit the recharge button. I will miss my amazing students over the summer, but I know that the best thing that I can do for them in preparation for next year is take some time for me. It is time to visit with my family, read the newspaper at a leisurely pace, have long lunches with friends and run along the beach. It is time to put school away for a good section of the summer and get some of the energy back that I will need to do this all again in September.

It is also time to recognize all the great things that happened this year. Congratulations to all of you on what I know has been a successful year. Thank you for caring about our most vulnerable students and making sure that they feel good about themselves. Thank you for continually studying to stay current on best teaching practices. Thank you for pitching in and helping during special events to make sure our families feel like they are part of their child’s education. Thank you for giving up so much time with your family to prepare modified lessons and reports that parents can understand. Thank you for spending your lunch hours helping students work on math skills. Thank you for helping instill a love of learning and reading.

Finally, thank you for making me SO PROUD to be a teacher in Ontario. Have a wonderful summer and I can’t wait to learn alongside you next year.

Will Gourley Celebrating Success, General, Inspiring Teachers, Making a Difference Through Education, Occasional Teachers, Professional Learning and Growth, self reflection, Year End Activities

The (W)rap

The following is proof why I will never quit my day job for a career in entertainment.
Sung to the tune of Rapper’s Delight with apologies to the Sugar Hill Gang.

Rap

It’s June again and the heat is on,
School is buzzin’, students’ll soon be gone.

What’s that you say? No not yet.
You forgot to give one last test.

Too late my friends that’s all the learnin’
It’s time for the grades they’ve been earnin’.

10 months of fun fly by so fast.
Too bad, so sad these times don’t last.

But, that’s ok, not to fear,
We’ll all be back for another new year.

So say see you later, not goodbye
There’s no need to dry your eyes.

Take time to celebrate your endeavors,
Kick back, and relax. Take time to recover.

Boxes

Before you shut the door for the final time this June, take time to look back on all of the amazing things you were part of in your classroom this year? Maybe it was a break through in Math or Language. Perhaps it was a victory in classroom management? Don’t forget the “a-ha!” moments where it seemed like all of the light bulbs over your students’ heads went on at once. Make sure to pack your boxes of memories tightly. Holding on to each one, because it is the sum of these experiences that continue to inspire, shape, and fuel your practice.

Look at the lives you made better for students where you invested time to coach teams, organize a concert, or lead a club. Cherish the moments of learning outside of the curriculum. The minutes you have shared will add up to a life time of difference in the lives of learners. Think about the mentorship you provided a new teacher, or the warm welcome you gave to an OT.  Take time to remember all of the good you’ve brought to education this year.

Congratulations to everyone for another amazing year of education at the speed of life. It is an honour to share the journey of education with you all.  May your time away be truly be relaxing and restorative.

Will Gourley Constant Learning, Financial Literacy, General, Inquiry, Learning in a Real Life Context, Year End Activities

Mov(i)e Time

It’s the last school week of June. Things are still happening at the speed of learning, of course. Final assessments are in the books and reports are printed. Students are buzzing, bristling, and bursting with energy like they’ve been equipped with new solar panels from TESLA to absorb the energy of sunny days.

By this month’s end my school will have hosted an evening fun fair, a talent show, track and field day(s), a graduation, a TED Ed event, a play day, and a year end celebration. Despite June being the month with the longest days, it still feels there is not enough daylight to get everything done.

In addition to the above, we have curated, collated, crafted, and corrected our report card comments. Many of us are moving classrooms within the building or to new schools. Boxes are packed and rooms are returning to their neutral states, void of anchor charts, memes, inspirational quotes, and student work. The memes are gone too.

What do you meanWith so much happening around a school, it might be easy to let things slide with free time or busy work. Popping in a movie in order buy a little packing time is tempting, but it is also a great time to engage in some real world learning.

So in between assemblies, graduations, and ancillary events, instruction is alive and well. My grade 6s are working, consolidating, collaborating, digging, questioning, sharing, encouraging, playing(baseball for gym), and reflecting. As I type, they’re calculating the cost of living in Markham in Math. #EyeOpener

These lessons are meant to inform students in the area of financial, social, and life literacy as well as teaching them to be reasonable, realistic, and responsible consumers in our society. The lessons spark curiosity, comments, and conversations that lead to deeper understandings about a world of responsibility out there.

I’ve discovered that whenever students engage with activities like these, they are the ones that are remembered most. Most of the lessons will fade into the recesses of the mind, but the skills, the discoveries, and the “A-ha” moments never go away. As this final week hits its stride, my grade 6s are too. Now that is a scene that I can watch over and over again.

In my post Tick…tick…ticked off I rail against media making claims that teachers are holding film festivals during the last weeks of school.

The last weeks in a classroom cannot be taught on auto-pilot because there is still a lot to teach, discover, and share. So contrary to a public broadcaster’s opinion, the kids and teachers have not “checked out”.

Sorry I’m not sorry to burst this bogus bubble folks, but the kids will have to sit on their own couches over the Summer if they want to watch a movie.

Admittedly, I was prepared for another battle as June approached. However, this year, the same broadcaster brought forward a more appreciative stance towards educators, and in doing so took time to honour the hard work and dedication of our profession. Listeners heard stories of impactful educators as well as memorable students. Hearing these simple affirmations have made these last weeks, much more enjoyable. Once again, an encouraging word makes all the difference.

With 450 minutes or less of instructional time left to count down on this year’s clock, I know most teachers are looking forward to every minute. I hope that you do too.

 

 

 

Beverly Papove General

It’s a Wrap!

Now that report cards and administrative protocols have been dealt with, this is the time of year where teachers often find themselves grappling with a mix of emotions. Personally, I am feeling; 1) exhausted – no explanation needed; 2) happy – to have had an amazing year of growth and learning in a new school; and 3) grateful – that our school is staying open and will be reincarnated as an alternative school next year, with an environmentally-focused program. The way I would describe myself right now would be all these emotions wrapped into one big bumbling ball of trying-to-be-a-teacher. I am still trying to make sure that everyone in my charge is safe, happy, and having valuable learning opportunities throughout their days – it’s just that I am a bit distracted as I look in cupboards or on my desk… There are still lots of things to do in my classroom before I can surrender my keys to the custodian because, as we know, it is never just say goodbye to students and colleagues, close the door and drive off into the holidays. At least this year I am not moving schools, just classrooms. I never needed help organizing my primary or junior classrooms at the end of the year, but in kindergarten, I am ever grateful for my ECE teaching partner. Nevertheless, the task of closing up seems mammoth. So where do I start?

On my desk a series of small containers and baskets accumulated throughout the year and slowly filled with loose parts – like lonely puzzle pieces, beads, buttons and dice. Yesterday, I took it all and emptied everything into a huge wooden salad bowl. Then, I placed the big bowl on a centre table with smaller empty bowls around it. Who would have guessed that it would be the most visited centre for 2 days? Without telling them what I wanted them to do, students started sorting by colour, then by theme, and pretty soon, all the items had been moved around, played with, and finally sorted out again so that everything could be put back in its proper place. One job done!

Next on my list is organizing all the books and resources I collected throughout the year – piles are scattered over and under my desk and along shelves in no particular order. Luckily, I was able to take several rigid file boxes from the librarian who was clearing out her space. In a strange kind of way, I am looking forward to organizing the books. Sorting a growing collection of resources gives me a sense of satisfaction that maybe only teachers who strive to be organized, but never fully attain that state, can understand.

Finally, apart from closing up my classroom for the year, I have an end-of-the-year gift for my teaching partner who made my year so much fun and fulfilling. We are lucky to share a philosophy about how young children learn and we make eachother laugh. I also really want to make sure I show my appreciation to the office administrator who always has my back. I can honestly say, that in all my years of teaching, so much of a school’s success has to do with an office administrator who manages so many of the fine details of the day-to-day life in a school. At my current school, she is the hub, essential and all-knowing, with a great sense of humour. It is a pleasure to recognize and thank her for all her efforts to help me with all the administrative stuff I tend to sometimes forget.

I am not quite there yet, but all will come together as it always does. Then, when I finally do say goodbye to everyone and hand over my keys, I will acknowledge all the work I have done throughout the year in one deep sigh and step into the holidays to relax and recharge. And then run back into the school to collect my worm composting bin (message to myself). Here’s to the holidays!