Teacher Thoughts- 1st Edition

Thank you for joining me for my first official Teaching Thoughts post!

Last week, Kristin posted this article that listed things parents do that drive teachers crazy.  You should take a moment and look over the list.  I'll wait....

*waits*

Now that you're back, she and I agree that this list is completely asinine.  Most of these "problems" are not real problems, and if my problem was that someone brought me a mug on the first day of school, I would be thrilled.  Do I need another mug?  No.  But the simple act of someone welcoming you to a new school year is what really matters.

Would you like to know some things parents do that actually drive teachers crazy?  I'd be happy to share some real world problems with you, in no particular order.  (While I have mentioned some of these things in previous posts, it appears that they need to be shared again.)

1. Take their child's word for it.
Parents love their children.  They should.  But you lied to your parents, and your child probably lies to you.  Who WANTS to tell their parents that they got in trouble at school?  I am willing to bet that if you think the teacher did something unreasonable, you better check with him/her first.  We don't just give consequences to students just because we like it.  Just as you don't like to have to punish your child, neither do we.  Ask your child's teacher for the other side of the story before you get upset.

2. Complain/argue about their child's consequences.
In sixth grade, my team and I send home a 6th grade handbook (in addition to our school district's student handbook) with specific rules and consequences for sixth grade.  Parents are required to look over the information with their child, provide their contact information, and sign a sheet stating that they have seen the handbook.  A copy can be kept for their reference.  At my district, our students leave 6th grade and go to the Jr/Sr high school.  We are preparing them for more responsibility.  If they do not follow the rules, they receive a consequence.  The end.

3. Go over the teacher's head.
If there is a problem, please talk to your child's teacher.  If you are not satisfied with the outcome, then talk to the building principal.  If you are still not satisfied, then go to the Superintendent.  If you continue to remain unsatisfied, take the issue to the school board.  If I don't know that you have a problem with something, I cannot make changes to the situation.  I am human.  I will make mistakes.  I will apologize when I mess up, but I cannot do this and work to resolve the problem unless I know that there is one.  Skipping over us and going straight to our bosses makes us resentful.  I doubt you would like it if I went to your boss and complained about you without talking to you first.

4. Blame the teacher for the child's bad grade.
I don't like to see kids fail, but the reality is that sometimes they do.....even the best students!  We all have "off" days.  If I know that many students failed because I didn't teach something well, I will reteach and give the test again later.  I am doing everything I can to help your child to be successful.  I can't give them the answers to the test.

 5. Expect teachers to be infallible.  
Sometimes, I have to be firm.  Sometimes, I have to give a failing grade.  Sometimes, I have to give a consequence.  Frankly, sometimes, I have to yell.  I am certain that as parents, you are not always perfect, please don't expect me to be.  I will mess up.  I will say the wrong thing.  I may upset your child because they don't like their consequences, or they didn't like being corrected.  But it's my job.  It's my job to prepare your child for the next grade.  It's my job to provide correction when it's needed.  I wish I could be 100% perfect all the time.  Sometimes I'm sick.  Sometimes I'm tired.  Sometimes, I'm all in and completely focused.  Sometimes, I'm annoyed at the behavior of another student or class.  In all, I am a human being with emotions, and sometimes they get the best of me.

These are all things that I have experienced at one point or another in my career.  I take things very personally, and it's hard for me when my character is being attacked.  It weighs very heavy on me, and it makes it hard to stay positive.  The students rarely know that these things are taking place.  They may be mad at me for taking their recess on Monday, but by Tuesday (or even 5 minutes later on Monday), we're good again.  There are times I think parents could take a lesson from their children.

Fellow teachers, what do you think about this list?  Is there anything you would add?

Teacher Thoughts

I've got a lot to say on the subject of teaching and education.

As a teacher, I feel that I am highly qualified to discuss the subject.  I've got so many thoughts floating around in my brain and topics weighing on my heart, and I've decided to make an effort to blog more in order to share my thoughts with all of you.

With that being said, these posts will NOT be just for teachers!  If you've ever been to school, know someone who is in school, have a child in school, know someone who has a child in school, will have a child in school, etc. etc. etc. these posts will be for you, too!

I hope that you will join me as I share what's on my mind regarding teaching and education in today's society.  I'm going to call my little segment "Teacher Thoughts."

As I begin this journey, here are a few of my past posts I've written along these lines...

Things to Remember about Teachers
On Being a Teacher
What Not to Say to a Teacher

"See" you tomorrow for my 1st Edition of Teacher Thoughts!

Stuff & Things 9/10: Education Edition

Hi everyone!

I've been scarce around these parts lately, so I thought I'd take a moment to link up with Kristin this week!

• A new school year is under way, and it's off to a good start.  So far, this is a nice group of kiddos!  Some of them even brought me cards and gifts for my birthday even though I really didn't mention it or make a big deal of it.
• Speaking of school, for the first time, I had a group choose to read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as one of their novels this year!  I'm super excited to be giving this brand-new unit a try! 

  

  I covertly took this picture while the students were working in their groups.  If we're friends on Instagram, you might have seen this with the caption: "Happiness is: Students reading Harry Potter in class!! #hpforever"

• Tonight is our Open House.  I'm stuck here at work until 7:30 tonight.  On the bright side, I get to have dinner with my bestie after work!
• I have decided to take a class.  As per some big wigs in education somewhere, we now only need to have a formal observation in PA every 3 years.  The other two years, we need to do some sort of project.  Last year, I completed a portfolio based on a math strategy I was implementing after attending a conference.  This year, I decided I was in the mood to take a class, and I figured that I would kill two birds with one stone by completing a self-directed research project.  I found a class about working with gifted students in the regular ed classroom through Learners Edge.  One area in which we are lacking at my school is growing and enriching our gifted/advanced learners.  We are focused on our struggling students because that is our largest population, and advanced students get lost in the shuffle because they'll "be fine" no matter what!

With all of that being said, it's time for me to check back in with my reading groups!

What's up with you lately??

Back to School Nightmares (aka #teacherproblems)

Those of you who follow me on social media may have seen me mention having back to school nightmares.

Becky Dougherty

July 15 at 6:35pm · Bellwood, PA · 

In the latest news, I had my first back to school nightmare last night.....‪#‎teacherproblems‬

Recently, I was asked what exactly these nightmares are about.  I don't know what nightmares other teachers have, but I can certainly tell you about mine.  Here are some things that typically happen in my back to school nightmares.

1) No one is listening or paying any attention to what I'm teaching.

via

2) We'll call them....challenging....students from the past show back up in my classroom

via

3) Nothing I try to do goes right!

via

4) Parents come in and yell at me.

via

I would say those are some of the main things.  They may not sound that bad, but in nightmares, it's all terrifying!  Some of these things DO actually happen in real life, but fortunately, they're not usually as bad as they are in the nightmares!  

Fellow teachers, what are your back to school nightmares about?

A Comparison

All this week, I've been sharing school-related things.  On Monday, I shared the Top 5 hits from 1988--the year I started Kindergarten.  Tuesday was my classroom set-up for the 2014-2015 school year.  Wednesday was my book review of The Chronicles of Narnia, and yesterday, I shared some tips that parents should know about teachers.  Today, as I'm mere days away from returning to my 6th grade classroom, I thought that I would share some of the differences and similarities between being a first grade teacher and a sixth grade teacher.

Note: ALL of the following pictures are from Pins I've pinned to my "The Life of a Teacher Board" on Pinterest.  You can find the links to their original homes there.  

Some things are true of teaching both 1st and 6th grades:

Yes, this happens to me, and yes, it happened in both first and sixth grade.  And yes, I usually immediately regret this decision.  Therefore, I almost always pick partners FOR my students, thereby crushing their hopes and dreams.... ;0)

Here are some things that are true of teaching first graders:

Celebrating the 100th Day of School is a BIG deal in first grade!  It was always a day of fun activities.  In sixth grade, I acknowledge the 100th day of school, but the day continues as usual.  I do, however, start my end of school countdown on this day!

That would be "hand sanitizer" in case you don't know.

I loved doing cute and fun science lessons with my first graders.  I thought this one about the butterfly life cycle would have been really cute!  I am not (and do not want to be) the sixth grade science teacher.

This was one of my first grade pet peeves.  I would often tell students that I would call on students who were sitting in their seats quietly with their hands raised.  In contrast, sixth graders would prefer that I stay as far away from them as possible.  ;)

I do miss teaching first grade sometimes.  I miss how excited they are at Christmastime.  My last year in first grade, I had an Elf on the Shelf, and I had so much fun placing him in the classroom for the kids to find when they arrived.  I miss that I could use the simplest gifts as rewards, and they thought they were absolute treasures.  I miss that they loved me unconditionally!  But I don't miss runny noses, the reading curriculum, or how I had to go-go-go to be "on" for these little ones.

I like that sixth graders are independent.  They don't need me every single second of the day.  I like that they can work independently with mostly guidance from me.  I like that we can carry on great conversations and that they understand my sarcasm.  I do wish they cared a little more about their grades, and that I didn't worry they may call me nasty names behind my back when they're unhappy with me.  But overall, I am truly happy to be preparing these students to head off to junior high.

Stuff & Things: Teacher Edition

My last week of freedom summer vacation is almost at an end.  As I head back to work next week, here are a few things that teachers want parents to know and keep in mind!

1. Teachers are HUMAN.
This means that we will make mistakes.
We can't see and hear everything that happens every minute of the day.
We can't read minds.
We care about your child or we would not be in the teaching profession.

2. Teachers DO have your child's best interest at heart.
We know that your child is the most precious thing in the world to you.  We know that you are trusting your child to our care, and we will do our best to be kind, courteous, respectful, and to teach them what they need to know.  In return, we expect that your child will be kind, courteous, respectful, and to work hard to learn what they need to know.  We also need your support.

3. If there is a problem, let the teacher know.
Remember up there in #1 where I stated that teachers are human?  Remember where I said that we can't see and hear everything that happens?  It's really, really true.  If something is going on with your child and he or she doesn't tell the teacher, how can the teacher help?  Please don't assume that we are just ignoring the problem or not doing anything.  Contact us and let us know about the situation.  Odds are good that we don't know about it.

Did we make a mistake?  (See #1...again)  Let us know.  We have a lot going on.  Mistakes are bound to happen.  Be kind.  Be gentle.  Make us aware, and give us time to fix the situation.

4. Please, please, please, don't go over the teacher's head!
If there is a problem, ask yourself the following question:  "Did I talk to the teacher about this?"  If the answer is, "No."  See #3.  If, and ONLY if, the answer is, "Yes," should you go to the principal.  Talking to the teacher's boss is the same thing as a child tattling to a grown-up before trying to resolve an issue on his/her own.  If you haven't spoken to the child's teacher about the issue, please do so.  If you have spoken with the teacher, and you are still not satisfied with the results, then it's ok to take it to the next level.

5. Be respectful! 
If  you come into a conference with your mind set on raising hell, no good will come of it.  Did your child fail a test or a class?  This is not the teacher's fault.  We don't fail people for fun.  We don't like to see our students fail.  Students fail as a result of not doing the work required of them.  Please don't be these parents:

If you are respectful, your child will be respectful.  If you are respectful, WE will be respectful.

6. Together, we can help your child to have a successful school year!
Teachers and parents are NOT on opposing sides.  We ALL want your child to have a fun, successful, and wonderful school year.  We ALL want your child to learn what is required.  We ALL want your child to feel loved, safe, and to be happy.  If we work together, communicate respectfully, and remember that we are all human, this school year can be amazing!

Transformation Tuesday

As I mentioned yesterday, this week is my last week of summer vacation.  To "celebrate" going back to school, this week is full of school related posts.

For Music Monday, I shared some songs from 1988, the year I started Kindergarten!

Today, I'm going to show you my classroom set-up.  I was chatting a bit about school with my friend, Ashley from A Party of Four, and she mentioned seeing my classroom set up.  So, at the very least, I know that she will appreciate this post!  Haha

Just in case you're new around these parts, last year, I moved from first grade (after 6 years) to sixth grade.  I will be continuing in 6th grade this year.  I will teach one math class, a language arts (writing) class, and all of the sixth grade reading classes.

Let's start in the hall...

I like to start the year with a welcome back bulletin board.  I just think it's fun, and frankly, if I didn't, this bulletin board would be blank for awhile.

This bulletin board changes each month.  For this one, students will write (and color/illustrate) the title of a book they read over the summer on a blank picture of a book.  In October, they'll do a book they recently read on pumpkins.

This welcome sign is on a support pole outside of my classroom.  The circle and stripe design is a theme in my classroom.  Last year, I became obsessed decided I really liked the idea of my classroom accents matching.  This theme is called Calypso.  It's from Carson Dellosa.

This set-up is right inside my door to your right.  It's all taped to the wall, and it's cleverly covering all of the ripped off paint spots that they never seem to fix.  The calendar, birthday chart, and class chart (that I'm using to keep track of AR- Accelerated Reader points) are from the Calypso Bulletin Board Set.  Students actually start school on August 27th, but I just go ahead and set up the calendar for September so I don't have to change it on the first Friday back to school.  The border is orange on the back.  

When you enter my room, and turn left, you will see these pencil punctuation guys!  This wall also has unsightly chipped paint spots.  Since I'm teaching Language Arts this year, I decided that they would be useful for more than one reason.

Above the cabinets next to the wall with the punctuation pencils, I have some storage boxes.  Some of them are empty, and others hold holiday decorations.  I was so tired of looking at ugly cardboard boxes so I bought some fun duct tape, and voila!

This blank poster was part of the Calypso Bulletin Board Set.  I decided to use it for writing the classroom rules, and I took down the one I had that didn't match the theme! :)

This is the only thing in my classroom that isn't totally finished yet.  I have to create the chart that I'm hanging here.  It will be a classroom reward system.  Students who earn a 100% on a test or receive a good behavior slip will get to sign their name in a binder, and choose a square from a 10 x 10 square.  Each square will reveal a small individual or class prize.  When they get 10 in a row, we will have a big class reward like a pizza party or a 30 minute extra recess period.  The border is purple on the back.  (You will see this shortly).

Here is the view of the front of my classroom.  (The 100 Club bulletin board is cut off on the left.)

The smart board from the above picture used to be on this side of the room for some insanely stupid reason.  I requested that it be moved to its current location for this school year.  To cover up the horrible mess of a wall now that it's moved, I taped white paper to the wall, framed it with the purple side of the polka dot border you saw before, and hung up this reading strategies set.  Below this is my mail center.  The white paper has my students' names with their assigned number.  The mailboxes are numbered from 1-20.  I used black binder clips, cut white file folder stickers to fit, stuck them to the binder clips, and labeled them with numbers.

I learned a lesson last year about the classroom computers...particularly during recess.  The same students use them all of the time, and I can't keep track of it.  Therefore, I created a sign-up sheet.  (And at some point, I hope, my monitors will be returned....)

Here is my classroom library.

Here's the striped border AND its reverse side.  This is my supply station.  When I started 6th grade, I wanted to still have students do classroom jobs without them seeming baby-ish.  Student earn points that they can use in my classroom store.

The bottom shelf has items that students can "buy" with their points in my classroom store: erasers, notebooks, pencils- regular & mechanical, pens).

I used my fancy panorama feature on my iPhone to take this view of the seating arrangement and front of my classroom.  I decided on this arrangement so students can easily see if I'm teaching from the smart board or from the white board at the back of the room.

So there you have it!  What do you think???

Stuff & Things: Random Thoughts

Here are some random thoughts:

1.  Water is a catch 22.  I get that we're supposed to drink a lot of water each day, and I mean, A LOT.  It's good for you, but seriously, having to pee 100 times a day is REALLY annoying.  And, of course, we all know that waiting too long to go is not good for you either.

2. Ok, this one is also about water.  Scott and I bought the variety pack of Propel powder packets the other day.  Since I have been trying to drink water with my lunch AND dinner AND throughout the day, I've been getting pretty tired of the lack of flavor in my life.  I really do like these things, and it's a nice way to change up the whole water thing without adding calories to my day.  And at least, there's a variety of these to keep that from getting boring.

3. My first day back to school is August 25th.  The kids come on August 27th.  Next week, I will have a series of school-related posts.  (One of them will be my classroom set-up!)

4. Have you heard of/tried Vinted.com?  It's a pretty cool website where you can sell your clothes and accessories.  The prices are similar to yard sale prices (at least MINE are).  Buyers pay the shipping, so once you sell something, you ship it off.  Once they get their item(s), you get paid.  You can also buy items from others, or you can swap things!  I did manage to sell a Thirty-One purse, wallet, & key chain.  And I've had lots of people mark my items as favorites.  I haven't had a ton of luck, though.

5. My parents' and their neighbors are having a yard sale this weekend.  I've been trying to purge all sort of things around here: clothes I'm not wearing (because they don't fit or I don't like them any more), appliances, and other items we're not using.  I have stuff on eBay, Amazon, Vinted, and a bunch of local yard sale groups on Facebook.  I just hope I can get rid of a lot on Saturday!  I'm tired of our house being cluttered!  I'm even going to set up a table with my Celebrating Home stuff.  I have items that aren't in our current catalog and aren't ones I want to keep that I can sell on the spot, and I also plan to try to get some leads on parties and fundraisers.

6. Finally, the above just reminded me.....Celebrating Home offers AMAZING fundraisers.  We have two that yield up to 50% profit for your organization!  You don't have to live near me for me to help you or your organization with a fundraiser.  I would simply have forms shipped to you.  There's also an online component, and once I receive all of your orders, everything will be shipped to the location you specify sorted for each seller.  It's SO easy!  If you need to raise money for ANYTHING: personal, trips, schools, sports, dance, gymnastics, day care, medical bills, charity....ETC (the possibilities are endless!), contact me, and I can share more information with you!

So what Stuff & Things are on your mind today?
 

It's the First Day of School

So I promised that I would share some before and after photos of my classroom.  Too bad I don't have some Before, After, AFTER photos for you, though.  Last year, my classroom was not used, and it became a dumping ground for everyone's junk.  I nearly had a panic attack trying to figure out what furniture I needed to keep from my old classroom because I couldn't figure out what furniture in the new classroom was supposed to be mine!

I digress. 

Here are my photos:

This is the back of my classroom.

This is the front of my classroom.

This is my storage space, and students' "lockers" where they can hang coats, backpacks, and other stuff.

I LOVE those bookshelves.  I had them in my classroom directly below this one, too.  I brought that large storage cart with me.  All the stuff on the shelves in the before picture are now in the storage closet in the above picture.

That's all of my before and after photos, but I do have a few other things to share! :)

I think the "You are Responsible for You" banner is an important reminder, especially for these older kids!  I love my neatly organized arts and supplies shelves.  I brought this up from my old classroom, too.  Those cans on the top center shelf were my little project.  I just took some empty cans and hot glued some fabric to them.  :)  I'm also doing the Daily Café and Daily 5 this year. For 6th grade, I'm actually doing the Daily 3: Read to Self, Word Work, and Work on Writing.  For my café bulletin board, I have white dinner napkins to write the skills on.  Above the plates, are knives that explain what each letter stands for: Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, and Explore Vocabulary.

I am going to be teaching mostly reading in 6th grade.  I have my library arranged in alphabetical order by the author's last name.  This literally took me 6 hours to do.  I have laminated cardstock cards with each letter of the alphabet to show where each section begins.  In the second picture, I decided to make it very easy for students to borrow books.  Each class has a boys and girls pouch with a name card in it.  When a student takes a book, he or she writes the title of the book on the card, and uses the card as a place holder to mark where the book belongs.  Not only will this help them know where to return the book, but I will know who has what book out of my library! :)

I really love this bulletin board.  :)  In first grade, I had TONS of jobs for the kids to do.  In 6th grade, they really don't care if they get to lead the line down the hall, or if they get to be the ender and close the door.  I still have a few jobs that I need the students to do.  So I covered the top half with the classified section of the newspaper, and advertised for help.  My jobs are messenger, janitors, mail, and substitute.  Under each job pouch, I wrote how many people I need to do the job, the job description, and what I will "pay."  The purple can on the shelf has popsicle sticks with each student's name on them.  If a student wants to do a job, they can put their popsicle stick in the pouch.  The only job needing two students is janitor.  I used to use paper dollars with my face on them and had a little store every other week with all kinds of toys and things as prizes.  I don't think 6th graders will be too excited about my cheap Dollar Tree prizes.  What I decided to do is allow them a choice of pay.  They can receive one of our school's positive behavior slips at the end of the week OR they can earn a specific number of points.  Points can be used in the small store I'm going to have with school supplies: pencils, pens, erasers, possibly notebooks, folders, etc.   The substitute can earn a slip or points each DAY that the student has to fill in for a job of a student who is absent.  If no one is absent that week, I may still "pay" the student some how.

So that's it for my classroom tour.

I'm super nervous, but excited to be starting a new chapter as a 6th grade teacher!