Our not-first day

Tuesdays at TWT!

Yesterday was our not-first day. Sweetie's first day of kindergarten in the district I attended K-12 and have taught 13 years in. My colleagues' first day with students. And, although staff worked a week last week, my first day of realizing that my year of unpaid leave is really real. 

After working energetically all summer to hone my digital teaching skills and antiracist strategies, I won't be implementing them this year. No lessons, no classes, no students. 

Because our district's choice to start remotely for two weeks and then move to hybrid learning is not enough for me. I love to teach, and I so badly wanted to find a way to do it this year, but when I held up every scenario to if it would be worth it if my precious girls (especially Sweetie's preemie sister) got sick, it was absolutely not. So Sweetie is attending remote kindergarten for at least the semester (a choice for families but not teachers), and we will all continue to be safe at home, minus the job I love but with our health.

So yesterday, I set up Sweetie's remote work space, not a classroom. 

I talked and played with her and her little sis, not students.

I drove to her school, not mine.

We took pictures outside her school's front doors, but then we went home, not in.

We picked up special curbside takeout meals to eat at home, not at restaurants.

She opened her Chromebook, not a classroom door.

She waved, talked, sang, listened to a story, and raised her hand in Google Meet, not on a rug.

She gave her teacher a virtual hug at the end of class, not a real one.

And after the girls were asleep, I was relaxing and going to sleep early, not planning lessons, creating activities, or communicating with students or families.

But she still giggled, squealed, bounced, and beamed.

I still thought of my colleagues and students (and observed Sweetie's lessons with my teacher-brain ON, not judging but learning and wondering how I can use my skills to support her growth).

We still talked about our day, and it really was lovely that our favorite moments were all shared.

She is still a kindergartener, 2020-style.

I am still a teacher-mom, doing whatever it takes. It just takes something different this year.

And she played with her little sister more than she would have if she had gone to school. We caught a katydid and she brought it to her Meet in our bug house. We had extra snuggles, and I had time to give her an Elsa braid. 

And even though some things were missing, and many things were not as we'd planned, it was a wonderful day, not a hard one. We were excited and satisfied, not disappointed. Our hearts were full of all the ways our day was special, not the ways it was different than it should have been. And we are safe and secure, not at risk or anxious. And while I recognize this is an extremely privileged choice we were able to make, we are also helping our community by doing our part to stop, not spread, the virus.

And the peace in my heart tells me that this is right. 

For us, for this year.

I'm enticed by the possibility of more beautiful, precious, unexpected nots awaiting us.

Ready

Tuesdays at Two Writing Teachers!

Piles of paperwork are heaped in my corner of the counter. Supplies are scattered across my desk as if a tiny tornado just swept across it. Embarrassing heaps of books that never got stamped wait impatiently inside cupboards, hiding until they are ready for eager hands to explore them.

Every time I cross an item off my list, I write down three more below it.

"Are you ready?" everyone asks. "No," I cheerfully reply, "but I'm excited!"

All across town, backpacks are being filled, lunches are being packed, and alarms are being set. Stomachs flutter and eyes struggle to go to sleep so early. But are they excited too?

All it takes is one little spark. (Love that I named that post last fall before I chose my OLW this year!) One little gesture to show them that you care. One little note to remind them how words can connect us. One little card to open up the world and show them that learning is fun.

Vacation postcards from Georgia ready to be mailed last week!

Over the weekend, I got this email from a student:

(Remember, I get the pleasure of having many of my students for several years!)

So yes, I actually am ready. Ready for old smiles and new connections. Ready for hugs, laughter, tears, and stories. Ready to build communities. Ready to grow and learn together.

It will be hard, but it will be worth it. Another amazing year begins tomorrow!

One Little Spark

"I got your letter!!!"
"I liked your letter!"
"Oh, I got a postcard from you!"
"That place was pretty! Where is it?"
"Recibí tu carta y quería responder, pero no pude encontrar su dirección..."
"Thank you for the letter!"
"My parents were wondering which one you were, and I explained to them..."

Last Wednesday, on the first day of school, my students came bouncing into my classroom with huge smiles and sparkling eyes.  One even pulled his postcard out of his binder, waving it as he found a seat.  Class after class, amidst a sea of hugs, excited chatter, and smiles both familiar and new, postcards (which my students mostly called "letters") came up again and again.

You see, a few weeks earlier on my trip to Hocking Hills, I perplexed the gift shop cashier by buying a huge stack of postcards to send to my students.  When I used to teach elementary school, I knew teachers who sent their new classes postcards or letters over the summer, and I just loved the idea.

Just before mailing!

Last fall, one of my freshmen wrote a few sentences in her first quarter reflection letter that stuck with me all year.  Because of her, I'll always remember how scary first days can be, especially for freshmen, new students, and ELLs.  Moreover, I'll always remember what a difference one teacher can make.

I don't even remember what we did in class, and I bet she doesn't either.
But months later, she remembered how she felt in my classroom.

When I was planning for the beginning of the year, her words kept running through my mind.  If I could make her day better without really trying, what if I tried harder?  What could I do to make that first day more of a DELIGHT for all my students?  How could I take away that nervousness and apprehension for more kids?  What were my students feeling like as they looked ahead towards the school year, and how could I make it a more positive feeling?

As I thought, worried, and wondered about my students' summer experiences, the memory of those elementary teachers who sent notes over the summer came drifting back, and I knew I had to try it.  At the very least, I hoped my students would have something positive in their minds when they thought about me and my class.  I hoped the new students would feel a little less scared, and that my students from last year would feel special that I thought of them over the summer.

Last Wednesday, I was rewarded with so many more smiles, squeals, and hugs than I had dared to dream of.  A few dollars and a few hours of my summer for pure DELIGHT on the first day?  Definitely worth it.

It's going to be a great year!

Looking forward and back

at Two Writing Teachers!

The school year is here!  It's here!  It's here!

Students come tomorrow, and I'm so excited.  Last year at this time, I was a nervous wreck: new school, new subject, new age level.  I barely slept for days beforehand.

This year, I've been sleeping soundly through the night!  I'm comfortable in my school, I'm elated to have my own room, and I'm truly looking forward to seeing my students.  One of the great things about teaching ELLs is that I get to have many of the same students several years in a row.  I keep thinking about stories I can't wait to tell certain students, new books I can't wait to show them, and conversations I can't wait to have with them.  I can't wait to check in with the students I've worried about and get caught up with the others.  And of course, I can't wait to meet my new freshmen.

I'd love to write more, but there are still a few last-minute details to complete tonight.  However, I just have to share something exciting that happened recently.  Last week, I opened up my email to find a surprising message:

(What a surprise!)

We did a phone interview today, and it was so much fun to revisit my cart-traveling days.  It's really neat to realize that my blogging helps other teachers, and now it has led to something even bigger! The article will be up later this fall, so watch your email if you get those NEA Today emails.  :-)

I know I've said it before, but the Internet is so cool!!!

Spinning and Nesting

at Two Writing Teachers!

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my constant quest to improve my teaching. Since then, my brain has continued to tumble new ideas around like a washing machine, spinning and turning them over and over until they are ready.  Now, a week before school starts, some are ready, but some need a few extra cycles.

I've spent the past two days flitting around my classroom like a nesting mother bird, weaving the strands that will hold our community together and tucking in special soft fluff to make it comfortable.  After sharing two rooms with my colleague last year, I'm so excited to truly have my own space this year!

There's still so much work to do before the kids come next Wednesday, but I'm feeling encouraged, inspired, and confident that I'll be ready for them.  To make our year together more special, meaningful, and purposeful, I have some big (and little changes) in mind, including:

• sending a postcard to each student before school starts (almost done with this!)
• setting up the room with a cozy meeting space for whole-group discussions and open work spaces (no assigned seats) for independent & group work time
• using random & purposeful group & partner selection methods more often since there won't be assigned seats
• organizing periodic lunch bunches with students
• digitizing routines by putting up QR codes near the door for classroom sign-out (a simple Google form with name & destination, since the form will put in a timestamp!) and book sign-out (Booksource Classroom Organizer)
• not having a classroom management "system" beyond my classroom expectations, but having conversations with individual students and working with them to develop personalized interventions as needed 
• having an ELL parent night (an idea from last year, but I let it get lost!)
• being more purposeful with goal-setting early in the year, and incorporating English skills goals as well as academic / life skills goals
• implementing growth portfolios early in the year and having the students maintain them throughout the year
• digitizing our reading goal sheets (based on Penny Kittle's from Book Love, but my students each have their own) as Google spreadsheets (thanks for the idea, LeeAnn!)
• using Goodreads and blogging with my Intermediate students (instead of just my Advanced students, as I did last year)
• starting the year with a mini-unit about effective learning and being a community of learners, using the awesome lesson ideas in Larry Ferlazzo's new book, Self-Driven Learning
• doing a "slice of life" unit early in the year, with excerpts from The House on Mango Street and real slices as mentor texts, so students can be more purposeful when slicing independently for the rest of the year 
• revamping my grading to focus on mastery: 5% independent reading, 5% vocabulary development, 5% academic skills, 85% summative assessments in all areas (I will still post progress on practice work, but it will be weighted 0%!)
• implementing Genius Time with at least my Advanced class, and maybe Intermediates too
• using Evernote for my reading & writing conference records (I started this in the spring, and it was wonderful!), while simplifying the student writing conference record into a goal sheet and incorporating a column for skill goals into their reading goal spreadsheets
• encouraging reading & curiosity while connecting with authors & other classes through our new class Twitter account!

Of course, there are also innumerable tiny changes and adjustments spinning in my head, but those are some of the big ones.  If you have experience with any of those topics, please share your ideas and feedback!  Also, I'd love to hear what new ideas are tumbling through your brain this year!

Better

at Two Writing Teachers!

Last year was a hard year.  I'm tempted to say the hardest yet, but I'm sure my very first year of teaching was at least equally hard.  But after all, this was my first year in a completely new job (new school, new level, new subject!), so it was like my first year all over again!

While everyone (my principals, my Central Office administrators, other teachers, and many students) insisted that I was doing a good job, there was so many parts of my teaching that I was unsatisfied with.  Sometimes I knew what I wanted to do but just didn't have enough prep time to do it well.  Sometimes I thought I had a great idea and then it flopped.  Sometimes I just didn't know what on earth I should be doing.  Mostly, I did an ok job, and there were even some great successes, but I think I can do better.

I know I can do better!

I want to do better.  I want to reach ALL of my students.  I want our time together to be more meaningful ALL of the time. I want to turn ALL of them into lifelong learners.

So, like so many of you, I'm spending most of my summer thinking about school.  I'm reading all the professional books, blogs, and tweets I can get my hands on.  I'm wrestling with old questions and thinking of new ideas in the car, on the couch, in the park.  I'm sitting up in the middle of the night with a new thought that I just have to write down on the notepad beside my bed.  In short, my brain is spinning a lot like it does during the school year, but with renewed energy and enthusiasm due to the precious gift of time.

I've always done thinking and planning over the summer, but never this much.  This summer is different because I'm still so far where I want to be in this new position.  I still have so much to learn and so far to go to reach these new, different learners in this new and different subject.  Teaching high school ELLs has been a drastic change from teaching Exploratory Spanish to middle and elementary schoolers.  More intense.  More challenging.  More real.  More heartbreaking. More rewarding.  More life-changing.

All that means my brain just can't help humming with new ways to help my students.

I was going to share some of my specific wonderings with you, but I'm not quite there yet... you'll just have to wait for another post to see exactly what ideas are buzzing around in here!

What's making your brain spin, hum, and buzz this summer?

Do you like kids like us?

at Two Writing Teachers!

I finally feel like a normal person today!  School is finally becoming slightly less of a whirlwind and I no longer have to work non-stop until 9pm just to get ready for the next day.  I even cooked a real dinner tonight, for possibly the first time in several weeks!   (To be clear, a "real dinner" means that I managed to throw some prepared chicken in the oven and heat up some Ready Rice... as opposed to just heating up leftovers, dipping out a crockpot meal that Husband started in the morning, or having him pick up Chinese on the way home.  I didn't say I was a cook!)

Anyway, the first two weeks of school have been AMAZING, in addition to tiring.  Here are some of my favorite snapshots:

• My mom came to my school after one of the teacher workdays and brought me this awesome care package!  She is so proud of me for getting this new position! (And so excited that I'm teaching high school now: after all, she is a high school principal.)  It's full of all kinds of useful school supplies and I feel like I'm getting a hug from her whenever I use one of them.

My mom is awesome!

• On the first day, after my usual "about me" talk, I let the students ask me whatever they want.  One girl, who had told me earlier that she doesn't like little kids, asked if I like little kids.  (I do!)  Then a boy (who I have since learned is one of the sweetest high school boys you could possibly work with) raised his hand and asked, "Do you like kids like us?"  (Of course I do!)  That simple question took my breath away.  After all, isn't that what all kids want (and need) to know on the first day of school?!  Do you like kids like us?  Sadly, my predecessor in this position apparently did not, especially boys of his ethnicity.  I hope I show them every day that I do.
• On the first Friday, the school I now work at played the school I graduated from in football!  It was surreal and a blast, and the kids got a kick out of asking me who I was rooting for.  (My new school, of course!)
• I found out that one of my sophomores had a baby last year.  Wow.  And she is such a hard worker!  I don't know how she does it, and I admire her persistence a lot.
• After we talked about choosing a "just right" book and I recommended a few books to them, many students were excited to check out books.  In the afternoon, I mentioned that some of my highest recommendations were already checked out by some of my morning students.  I didn't expect this reaction: "M. checked out a book?!"  "Are you serious? He doesn't check out books!"  "Yeah, M. doesn't read!"  All the hours I spent organizing the mess of books into bins, buying new books so the kids will have high-quality books for choice reading, and making cute book bin labels are already paying off.  (By the way, the book was Origami Yoda.)
• I always have my students bring in a special object from their country's culture and share with us about their country.  I was pleasantly surprised by the amount and quality of questions that students asked in all classes.  (I had planned to make each group come up with a question for each person, but I didn't even have to tell them to!)  Moreover, in my afternoon class the sharing turned into the most amazing discussions! (I hope to write more about this another day.)  It was awesome to see the students genuinely interested in each other's countries and valuing each other's cultures.
• I've already had an amazing time writing for my students and sharing my writing with them.  This is one of the things I was most excited about in this new position, and it's as wonderful as I had hoped!
• To top it all off, we have a gorgeous view from the classroom window and we had incredible visitors in 3rd period today!  It was a great chance to crowd around the window, let nature seep into our souls, and have a quick discussion about how writers have to be good "noticers"!

a mid-morning surprise!

Whirlwind

at Two Writing Teachers!

The school year has started!  Today we had the "first teacher day": quotation marks because I've been in and out of school for weeks, as I know many of you have!

For me, today was an exciting and crazy whirlwind of a day: new building, new position, new age level, new colleagues... My head is spinning.  

A few recurring thoughts from the day:

• High schools are BIG.  Really big!
• What was it I wanted to ask?
• Oh, I met that person earlier... (Insert their name OR what they teach, but never both!
• Umm, ok... need to find out what that is...
• Oh dear, I need to add that to my never-ending to-do list!

This was my brain today...

As overwhelming as everything is at this point, I've found some really nice people to latch onto for help.  I discovered I know a few more people in this building than I thought I would.  And everyone keeps telling me how excited they are to have me and how they love my smile, which makes me feel like they're hugging me with words.

I think it will be a good year.  (Everyone keeps telling me this too, which is kind of nice but also somewhat unnerving, as if they're convincing themselves and me.  But that's not necessarily a bad thing; at least they are trying to be positive!)

Google Forms: Connecting with Parents and Students

This year I'm using Google Forms (a component of GoogleDocs) to gather personal information about my students from their perspective and from their parents' perspective.  I've always done a personal information worksheet with students, but this year I decided to go paperless.  It's my first time doing a parent form and I'm really excited about the responses so far.  The online format makes it easy for everyone: they can fill out the form anywhere at their convenience, and all their data is put into a nice spreadsheet for me to read easily!  Moreover, the forms are super easy to create!  All you need is a Google account and you can make a form!  (See the screenshot on the left.)  Creating the form is really simple: you can enter your questions and select from a variety of question types -- more on this below!

Most of the parent responses have been really thoughtful and insightful.  Parents really want to tell you about their child and work with you to have him/her be successful.  Here's a snapshot of some of the data I've gotten from parents:

As you can see, the spreadsheet generated by Google is easy to read and the information the parents gave is detailed and useful!  I love how the one parent told me their child was a "jewel". Such responses show me that the parents are glad I'm asking them about their children!  The students have been giving me similarly important information from their perspective.  It'll be nice to have all the info on my computer instead of on a million pieces of paper!  The spreadsheet is even searchable so you can easily find a certain child or piece of information.

From the parent/student end, the forms are simple to fill out.  There are "themes" you can use when you create them to make them visually appealing.  On the right is a screenshot of part of the parent form showing several question types.   (You can choose from fill-ins, drop-down, checkboxes, and more!)

I'm excited about how this great tool is giving me easy access to the information I need to know about my students.  It's also a great way to let parents and students know that I care about them!

Back to School

Despite my laments in the last post about the end of summer, I really do love back-to-school time.  I always loved school growing up, and now I enjoy seeing students who have that same excitement.  I absolutely love setting up my classroom.  This time of year always brings back memories of helping my mom set up her classroom when I was in middle school.  We'd go out to lunch and spend the whole day together getting her room ready for the new year.  I thought it was so fun to create bulletin boards and put up posters!  (Ok, I still think that's fun!)  Now she's a principal and I'm the teacher with a room to set up, and I still love that feeling of putting together a special place for the kids and giving it that "home" feeling.

I worked our school's schedule pick-up earlier this week, and it was exciting to see all the anxious kids with their parents.  They were so excited to see what team they were on and what teachers they had... and of course to see their friends.  The sixth graders were so cute with their nervous, shy faces and overwhelmed parents who were so happy to get some friendly instructions.  They've been all over the building for the past few days walking through their schedules and getting their lockers set up, and it gives the school this anxious buzz of activity that is really fun!

On Friday we had our first teacher workday, complete with a big district kick-off in the morning, that first building meeting, and some much-needed time to work in my room.  As I was working in my room, this little (I mean LITTLE... I think he came up to his friend's shoulder!) 6th grade boy and his friend popped in.  Context for this story: My first two years of teaching, I taught in our district's elementary Spanish program, where I traveled between 6 buildings teaching a tiny bit of Spanish to about 1600 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders.  I saw them once a week for 12 weeks.  Our 6th graders this year are the 3rd graders from my second year of teaching.

         Boy: "I don't know if you remember me, but I went to (Elementary School)..."
         me:  "Oh yeah!" (in my head: no clue!)  "What's your name again?"
         Boy: "I'm ____________".
         me: "Right!  Are you taking Spanish this year?"
         Boy: "Well I was going to but all my friends were taking Video Broadcast and I wanted to be with them... but I'm going to take it next year!"
         me: "Aw, that's too bad, we're going to have lots of fun! But I know it's hard for you guys because you don't get to do very many of the choices!  I'm glad you're taking it next year though!"
         Boy: "Well I just wanted to say hi and to tell you that you always made it really fun at (Elementary  School)!"

SO sweet, right? :-)  I love our students!  I've had so many little moments like that over the past couple of years.  I love middle schoolers because a lot of them are still not afraid to spontaneously blurt out "I love Spanish!" or "This class is so fun!" or "You have the best Notebook files!" or "I love your room!" (all actual quotes from my students last year) in the middle of class.

I'm sure he doesn't realize it but that little guy on Friday totally made me ready to start school again... although I am disappointed his friends talked him out of Spanish for this year.  I'm excited to see the rest of those 3rd-graders-turned-6th-graders next week!