"Professionalism Is as Professionalism Does"

I have just finished reading "The 10 Minute Inservice" by @ToddWhitaker and @AnnetteBreaux. If you have not read this book, it has a lot of great resources for both administrators and teacher leaders. I have already emailed a few suggestions to my colleagues from this book. I highly recommend getting your hands on this very practical approach to quality PD for a school staff.

The one part of the book that really has me thinking is the chapter entitled "Professionalism Is as Professionalism Does". The authors do a great job of describing ways to handle "Negative Nellies" in a school environment. Of course, their approach is that there are not any in our school, but if you ever were to run into one...here is what you do. Very tricky approach to addressing the elephant in the room without calling it by name!

What made me sit down and write was the impact that simple title had on me. How easy is it to complain about a student, a class, a lesson or program instead of buckling down to improve the situation? How easy is it to "pile on" when a colleague starts this kind of a session? We need to remember we are professionals.

This should be magnified, in my opinion, when we are talking to people outside of the school building. The conversations we have about our profession need to be positive. I constantly have conversations with several friends during the school year that are not in education. I have noticed how the tone of the conversations has changed since I forced myself to remain as positive as possible. This change was considered after I had a friend comment: "Yeah, but you get summers off, so a tough class isn't that bad, right?" That comment hit me like a ton of bricks!

That is when it dawned on me that educators need to be positive about our profession all of the time. It can not be limited to just school hours, or while we are in the building. We need to work very hard at keeping a positive spin on what we do.

I am not naive. I know we all have days, weeks or months where we want to pull our hair out. With every passing year, my hair is getting greyer and greyer. We have students, classes or parents that just make us want to scream. Go ahead and scream. Get it out. IN PRIVATE! After you do that, get back to being positive. The public needs to know that our job is tough, but there is no place else we would rather be!

Like I mentioned earlier, being professional all of the time is tough. There are days when we do not feel like being positive. We are tired. Our programs are underfunded. We have ridiculous mandates passed down from our state legislatures. But, you know what? My experience has shown me most of the public does not care. If we want to be seen as professionals, we need to act professionallly. All of the time. Every day. Don't our students deserve the effort?

Stop Being A Teacher in Order to Lead Them?

I was sitting in my Superintendent's office a few weeks back for my annual review. We were discussing my progress on obtaining my Principal's Certificate. This is something I have been working on for several years, and I believe I have recently cleared the last hurdle in order to obtain it. It was during this conversation that he said something that has really had me thinking the last few weeks: "You seem to really enjoy teaching too much to become a Principal. You need to decide which you want."

These simple statements have had me really thinking since our meeting. What did he mean? Do all Principals want out of the classroom? Do I have to stop being a Teacher in order to lead them?

The title of Teacher is not something I take lightly. I am proud of my profession. I thoroughly enjoy going to work everyday. My daughter did not think I had a job when she was little because I told her everyday that "Daddy is off to school." She thought I traveled the yellow bus every morning like the other kids! I work very hard at constantly trying to improve my instruction and classroom environment. Even after 17 years, I find new things to get excited about when entering in September. These are things I do not want to give up...regardless of how much I would like to climb the Educational Ladder.

After a lot of contemplation, I view my Superintendent's comments with a hidden message: Do not forget how hard the teachers work in the building. Do not forget how they struggle everyday to keep a classroom full of students engaged and learning. Do not forget the frustration they feel when the state decides things need to change; even though the present method was working perfectly. Do not forget that they need feedback and coaching, never an evaluaton system that is a "Gotch!" form of assigning a number to their performance. Never forget that even though they are adults, Teachers need a role model in the building that reflects a positive message throughout the building. That role model is their leader.

My view of a Leader contains a lot of the same characteristics described above. That leader has a larger role when becoming a Principal, but the core traits remain the same. The individuals you are leading have grown in number and age, but they are looking for someone that challenges them and is fair. That sounds a lot like how I run my classroom. I hope I never stop being called a Teacher, regardless of what job I may have. To me, there is only a couple of words that are better: a Husband and a Father.

How Polynomials Save My Year...Everytime

With the middle of May now slowly fading into the rearview mirror, with it goes state testing. The kids are tired after days of completing tasks that do not really measure how much they know. But, they are given by the state, so we have to administer them. The teachers are exhausted after months of lessons and activities getting the above mentioned students ready to take those ridiculous exams. I have a confession, I probably spend too much time gearing my students for those exams now that they impact my "score" by 30%.

What saves me every year from the post-test season "let-down"? What keeps me fired up and ready to teach with just a few weeks to go in the school year when I am dead tired? You may not believe me, but it is the unit I teach on Polynomials to my Eighth Grade Students.

Polynomials? Yes, you heard me right: Polynomials. This topic is the last chapter in our book. But, I have realized that I make sure I save this chapter for after our annual state exams. In all honestly, I look forward to this chapter every year. After some thought, I have compiled some reasons as to why this is true:

First, this chapter is an introduction to a critical standard for 9th graders. As 8th graders, we get a chance to explore a this strange new world of coefficients and variables through the main four mathematical operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. I use a quote for The Wizard of Oz to break the ice: "We are not in Kansas anymore, Ladies and Gentlemen."

Second, I know these topics are not on the state exam. With that pressure removed, we can learn something for FUN! We can explore, question, work, fail and try again. I do not hear that voice in my head that says, "OK. Three days on this is enough...you really need to move onto the next topic..." It is a tremendous feeling watching those smiles on their faces after tackling a tough polynomial problem. I know I've got them when even the "cool kids" let out a triumphant "Yes!" when they get a correct answer.

Last, I focus on standards instead of grades. I know I would like my kids to be able to add, subtract, multiply and divide polynomials by the end of the year. We work through example problems together, answer questions and take short assessments. But the great part is, if the assessments turn out poorly, I rip them up! There is no way I am burying them with low grades on topics that are at the introductory level. Because of that, these 8th graders work for me right up to the end of the year.

I thought I could get through an entire post without mentioning @burgessdave and his book "Teach Like a Pirate", but I guess I was wrong. His book is a great resource for educators looking to catch their second wind during the school year. Also, there are great ways to challenge ourselves to be better...or as Dave would say...DARE TO BE GREAT!

My "pirate" thought is maybe I will run my entire year next year like I run my chapter on Polynomials. Maybe I look at turning away from normal grading and take a more standards-based approach to my students' learning. Maybe I take a deep breath and navigate my "classroom ship" on a different course that gets the kids excited about learning all year. That would require a Herculean effort on my part, but might just be worth it for all of us in the room.

And who would have thought the catalyst for all of this thinking was a chapter on Polynomials? Algebra is Awesome!! May everyone have the chance to teach their own version of a Polynomial Chapter. Your students will thank you for it!

Dare to be great!

I was struck while reading Dave Burgess' Teach Like a Pirate by the following question: Do you want to be great? The question really made me think about my role in the classroom and the impact I have on the people I interact with everyday. Why is our profession one of the few where striving to be great could be considered a negative, slightly arrogant even?

I do not think professional athletes would say no to the same question. Definitely not chairperson's of companies. What is it about being an educator that makes us hesitate at wanting to be great?

This question has inspired me to try to create greatness in my classroom. I continue to work hard at creating an environment in my room where my students work hard and are not afraid to make mistakes. I honestly feel I have reached that several times over the last few years. That's pretty good considering I teach middle school math.

In my quest for a "great" classroom, I have had my students create podcasts in class the last few days. The groups were allowed to pick their favorite lesson(s) and given an iPad to work record and download to iMovie. It has been a pleasure being a part of the activities in my room the past few days.

I can honestly say the engagement has dramatically increased. Students that before were passive members of my room are not leading groups and editing segments of their video. I was concerned about not having a "normal" lesson for them, but I was noticing they were talking about math and correcting their problems for the podcasts! There is learning displayed there, right?

I am going to blog more after the podcasts have been finalized. I had an alterior motive for having my students create these...I always wanted a collection of podcasts for parents or students to use if they had questions. And the nice thing is, they were created for me!

Searching for Treasure...in the Cafegymatorium

If you have not read Dave Burgess' book entitled Teach Like a Pirate, I do not know what you are waiting for. It is full of great strategies for increasing engagement in your classroom. The main premise is that teachers over-look the fact that we are entertainers. The students are suppose to be active participants in our show that we are producing daily. Dave goes so far as to dress the part in several of his history classes. I am not there yet...but, I am trying.

The part of Dave's book that really struck home with me was how we can increase engagement by just holding "court" in a different location. Where can I take my class (literally) to maximize the learning experience? Today that place was our cafegymatorium.

Yes, I did combine three words into one. But, being a smaller school, we do not have the luxury of three separate parts to our campus. Anyhow, I saw the opportunity to have my math classes head to the cafegymatorium for a review on area and perimeter. The basketball court gave us a great chance to calculate the area and perimeter (and circumference) of the entire court, one of the lanes and the center circle.

What I witnessed during the day was kids working together in groups to measure the different side lengths. It was very interesting observing the different methods kids used to gather the information needed. I did not specify the number of kids in the group, but they seemed to stick with groups of 2 or 3. While the students were working, I used this opportunity to walk around and informally talk with the kids about how they found the area of the circle, why they only measured halfway down the court or why only measured halfway across the circle. The answers were varied, but right on target.

Did I have 100% engagment 100% of the time? No. Did I have 100% of the kids engaged most of the time? Yes. I think too many educators feel things are not a success unless they get 100% of the kids 100% of the time. Talk about setting an unrealistic goal!!

The engagement was extremely high during this lesson. I was very excited about the feedback I received from kids while they were working. Students that before I had to stand next to keep them "with me" were asking if they could give a second set of answers in yards or square yards after completing what I required of them. Yes, there was conversation. But, the conversations were about math. The students were focused on the task at hand. The real-world activity kept their interest. I love the sound of kids "disappointed" that the bell rang to end the period. Yup, it was that kind of day. A day full of treasure. Many thanks to Dave Burgess for the "map" to help me locate that treasure.

I Wrestle With Grades

GRADES...WHAT ARE THEY GOOD FOR?

This week was the end of the 3rd marking period for my school. Time to put the finishing touches on comments for the report cards. This takes A LOT less time now that we have electronic gradebooks. What always make the process longer for me is the agonizing over the required PARTICIPATION GRADE! How is this suppose to factor into the equation? How much value does this variable require? How is this suppose to all add up to a mark? Can you tell I am a math teacher...

In all honesty, these questions are what wake me up in the very early morning feeling guilty. How can this group of students receive a low grade because they did not "participate"? How can they have a low grade 12-14 year olds do not do homework? To me, these are behaviors/skills for kids to acquire over time...so what if they need work on that at their age? Isn't that the point of school?

There is another group of students that generate an educational headache for me as well: the ones that "play school" well. Who are these? The kids that are getting Bs or Cs because they participate, but do not really know the concepts. Actually, these kids create greater anxiety because they do not know what the grade says they should!  That is not their fault, but mine alone! They just happen to reap the rewards of the system in place.

This is the point where I thank @PrincipalJ and my PLN at #SBGchat for pushing me towards making some changes. PrincipalJ's influence was due to her discussion of change being hard at first, but over time (and a lot of hard work) it becomes easier. Honestly, she gets a tip of the hat from me for giving up coffee...I may have just dealt with the pain. I am a coffee addict, know doubt.

The great members at #SBGchat have provided me with a lot of information about Standards Based Grading. I have been moving SLOWLY in this direction over the last couple of years by paying more attention to grading on understanding the concepts than if it was done for homework. I allow kids to come to my room at lunch or during a free period to complete problems for a grade on that standard. I am completely confident of that student's ability to do the work when it is done in front of me. When the work is done somewhere else, I always wonder if they received any "help" from an outside source. There is no doubt of their ability to cover the standard when they complete the activity under my supervision.

I have a ways to go before I am completely using SBG in my classroom, but I believe I am on the right path. Change is hard. Change is difficult. But, when it is part of what we want for our students, I am willing to fight the fight. My alterior motive is to not wake up in a panic 8 times a year when grades are due...but, I am sure there will be something else to take its place! Oh, to the always-thinking-mind of an educator!!

PIRATE MOMENT

PIRATE MOMENT

I have spent the last several years reading a lot about teaching and education. To be honest, if I read this much in high school, I may have actually cracked four digits on my SATs. During this time, I have found books by Rafe Esquith and Rick Wormelli to be just what I needed to get rejuvenated about teaching. Recently, I have come across a book by Dave Burgess entitled "Teach Like a Pirate". This book has absolutely helped me regain my passion for the classroom.

Please do not misunderstand me. I love my job. However, we all run through peaks and valleys during the school year. Recently, I have definitely been in the valley. I do not know if it has been the cold weather in New Jersey this year or worrying about the looming state tests in a couple of weeks, but I have been dragging recently. I have been loooking for something to help push me towards that peak. I decided to be a "Pirate".

I have really enjoyed the beginning of this book. As a middle school math teacher, I completely agree with Dave's approach about "selling" lessons in the classroom. I am far from an entertainer, but I work hard at being passionate about whatever topics we are discussing that day. My "Pirate Moment" occured during a discussion today with my 8th graders about circumference of circles...

As we were reviewing some examples, I had a student raise their hand to ask about pi. Her question was, "Why is it 3.14"? I paused for a second and thought how can I answer this question while staying on track? I can not afford to stray because those state tests are coming up. Honestly, I have every day planned up to those tests to make sure everything is covered. It was then I took Dave's advice to let the learning happen.

So, I darted across the hall to borrow some string. I gave the spool to one student, a yard stick to another and scissors to a third. My instructions were simple: Measure out a line of string. With that, I had four or five kids out of their seats looking to help. Once that was done, I had them make a circle out of the string. I asked them to measure the diameter of the circle. Then, I had them divide the length of the string by the diameter. What did they get? 3.14

Again, I had them measure out a second, longer string. Again I had them make a circle with it and measure the diameter. Lastly, I had them divide the length by the diameter? What did they get? 3.14.
It was like a lightbulb went off above their heads. Nothing is better than hearing 8th graders moan because the bell rang to end the period!!

Looking back, I did not have to ask anyone to get up...all 9 of them were out of their seats, looking to get involved. To my surprise, so was the young man who I constantly have to "nudge" to keep awake some days. It was fun "swimming with" this group as they navigated themselves through the activity. Dave mentions several times in his book about the difference between being a "lifeguard" or a "swimmer" while having a classroom full of students.

I guess word got around that we did something great during that class, because my other 8th graders "complained" as they were leaving the building today that I did not try the circle activity with them. I guess I have my lesson for tomorrow...