Hello! I am so excited to begin this blogging journey with Heart and Art. I look forward to connecting, sharing and learning together. Enjoy the rest of the summer.
Getting Past “The 5 Year Wall”
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.
Hello from Michelle Fenn
Hello everyone. I am excited to be blogging with ETFO’s Heart and Art this year. I can’t wait to begin collaborating with you. You can follow me on Twitter @Toadmummy
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. 
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.
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.
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.
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.
With 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.
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!
THANK YOU!
It has been a long, arduous journey from September to the end of June and we are just weeks away from closing the chapter on another academic year. I am going to relive the last ten months of a fictional elementary school teacher.
A group of twenty plus disconnected, diverse individuals arrived in your classroom with a variety of needs beyond their academic status. Through careful planning, creative thinking, endless commitment and tremendous flexibility you were able to to:
- make each child feel welcomed and loved
- create a learning community
- develop the confidence and self-esteem of your students
- help them move forward in all academic areas
- taught them the power of being a team
- provided off campus, intramural, choir, club and athletic opportunities for them
- offered them a high five to celebrate and emotional support when needed
- in some cases provided food to meet their basic needs
- laughed and cried with them
- believed in them enough to provide tough love
- wrote reports, called parents, attended meetings
- organized assemblies and spirit days
- created Individual Educational Programs
- purchased necessary materials for your class and students
- spent endless hours beyond your school day
- gave up personal and family time for your students
- helped develop future global citizens
- attended a variety of professional learning opportunities to help in your journey toward best practice
- you have sacrificed personal health for your class and school
- please continue this list with anything I have missed
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! On behalf of students and parents everywhere, you continue to be a part of one of the most rewarding and important roles there is. You are a teacher!
I would also like to take this time to thank ETFO for the opportunity they have given me to be a part of the Heart & Art blog for the last 5 years. In that time I have had the wonderful opportunity to learn from many talented people. I have had comments shared with me that reminded me how proud I am to be a part of this profession. Finally, I have become a better teacher as my blogging has helped me reflect on the day-to-day work in my classroom. I am making this my last blog and challenge the many talented and inspiring teachers in ETFO to join in and share the expertise that lies within you and your teaching. THANK YOU!
On track
A couple of years ago, I shared a post titled Not feeling it today. It was a response to the highs and lows experienced in my life as an educator. The post’s banner image captured a lighthearted take on our profession in a simple sentence. It read,
“Students: If you ever want to know what a teacher’s mind feels like, imagine a web browser with 2,789 tabs open all the time.”- via Buzzfeed
Laugh it off
Each day comes with its own set of open tabs that seem like a wave of ups and downs. On the upside, I witness students working hard, asking questions, and discovering their talents. On the downside, the lows come in the form of students struggling with anxiety, issues of adolescence rearing their heads, and even some perceived/learned hopelessness about the future. Each time I look at this meme, the irony of it’s humour helps lighten my mood when I need it most coping with everything that occupies the physical and mental space of my own practice. We all need to laugh. Laughter is an effective stress reliever.
It seemed like June was so far away. I started hitting my stride around March Break, and suddenly it’s the last week of May. Instead of coasting to the finish line, I find myself running the other way after looking at my Teacher’s To Do List.
How are you coping?
I’m struggling, straight up. The frequent visits to the coffee shop are getting expensive. As this month winds down, I’m nervous that the light at the end of the tunnel might be a train pulling boxcar after boxcar of assessment, reporting, and end of year activities. Yet, here I am speeding down the track towards it.
A similar sentiment gets shared when speaking with colleagues too. The hard part is not running out of steam.
Have you noticed that students are feeling it too? I’m finding this a great time to encourage collaborative work in remaining subject areas. Free time is allotted to Maker Space, Inquiry, and Genius Hour projects. We will also be creating a Year Map to add a visual note to their past 10 months in the classroom.
In all of this many of us will be compiling assessment data. Whether, it is on sticky notes, digital, or mark books, our students will be given a snapshot of their accomplishments.
Kind words
For me, solace is found in reflecting over student growth throughout the year. I see the final report card as a treasure hunt that gets a new map attached to continue the adventure next year. Each year, our learners show so much growth and potential. As we report en masse these next weeks, take time look back at all of the amazing things that were accomplished in your classroom. Celebrate the highs, lows, bizarre, unexpected, and growth in yourself and your students. I have been fortunate to witness incredible growth in the curriculum subjects by my students this year, but it pales in comparison to the growth they have made as citizens and community. I hope you can celebrate this with your students too.