Lisa's Lingo

What I Did Over My Vacation

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Parisi) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 00:46:00 +0000

Teachers love to assign this topic to kids after vacations. And we always expect the kids to tell us amazing things. Instead we get these "bed to bed" stories of trips to Pennsylvania (I woke up at 5, got dressed, and went in the car). By the time we finally get to Pennsylvania, we are bored and wondering why we ever gave this assignment. But here I am, writing my own vacation essay. I am going to title mine - What I Learned Over My Vacation. I have so much to tell.

Lesson 1: Don't stress over travel arrangements.

I worry. I worry about making our flight. I worry about missing connections. I worry that the snowstorm in Canada will slow me down in Phoenix. I worry that I won't be sitting with my family, will lose my ID, will be hungry with no time to buy food. So, because I worry, I plan. I overplan. I buy enough food for a week to take on the plane. I check for my ID about 12 times before boarding. I make my family get to the airport 2 hours early, even when we are leaving at 6 in the morning. And, what I learned was, putting my family through all the stress and spending the day fighting (stress will do that to two tired parents and one teenager), is not worth it. This time, I planned and let it go. I forced myself to be cheerful and accept the delay in Bakersfield that almost had us miss our Phoenix connection. I allowed myself only some food and knew we would not starve to death. I actually had fun on the flight with my family. What a difference.
This made me think about planning in school. I tend to hate changes in our schedule. Field trips are a chore and a worry. Assemblies throw off the whole day. We won't even talk about changes for testing. But now...I am going to plan and let go. So we won't do math today because we got to see an amazing speaker talk about changes in the Arctic. No reading today while we listen to an assembly about good nutrition. And let's enjoy the trip to Old Bethpage Village Restoration instead of worrying whether or not we will see everything and make it back on time. Take the time to see the baby goats and eat lunch later.

Lesson 2: Stop the car often.

We love taking these trips that are basically road trips around a state. But we have a schedule. Drive here...see this. Move to that hotel and see that. Time is of the essence. This trip was a little less scheduled. We had more time in each place so we got to stop the car when we wanted to. And that led us to some amazing discoveries. Did you know that in Mohave California there is a little thrift shop full of old furniture, cool clothes, and lots and lots of books? And the owner of the shop is jealous that we live on Long Island. She has always wanted to visit. She lives in this amazing state and wants to come where we are. Did you know that there is a place called the California Old Faithful? It's a cheesy little place with an actually geyser (although I wouldn't be surprised to find it was really a pump underground)? We stopped, paid our $7 a piece to get in, and, not only saw the geyser, but got to pet the animals on the ground. We fed the llamas and the goats, listened to the sheep, and had fun taking pictures of the baby goats. We did not expect this at all but it was a fun time.
Back to school. I forget, sometimes, to stop the car. We are running so much to get everything in that I often forget that sometimes you have to stop. When a child comes in telling us about a new baby in the family, we need to take time to see the pictures. When we hear about a tornado in a state where our skype friends are, we need to take time to call them to see if they are okay. When we find ourselves fascinated with the 1930s because we just finished Bud, not Buddy, we must take some time to head to the library and find pictures to look at and books to read. So it's not in the curriculum. But it is worth stopping for.

Lesson 3: Act like a tourist.

This was a conversation we had with ourselves a lot. "Do I look like a tourist?" "You have a huge camera hanging around your neck. I think you look like a tourist." For some reason, we think looking and acting like a tourist is embarrassing. Try to fit in. But this vacation, my daughter walked around taking pictures of everything...people, buildings, animals, murals. She got us to realize that, if we try so hard not to be tourists, we will miss some amazing sites.
In school, we often forget that our students our tourists in our classrooms. The material we are covering is as new to them as Haight-Ashbury was to Ali. They need to be given time to explore, examine, ask questions, act silly...act like a tourist. Let's remember to give them that time.

Lesson 4: Find the beauty in all the places you go.

We traveled around northern California and saw some amazing country. But we also saw some incredible poverty, sad looking homes, people living on streets. My first reaction to these places was fear and sadness. My daughter, however, saw beauty. She pointed out the little garden in front of the tin roofed shack. She noticed the colorful headband that the homeless girl was wearing. She stopped to listen to the drummer on the street trying to make some money (yes, we paid him). She didn't feel fear or sadness. She just felt people. What a wonderful way to live.
In the classroom, we have students who struggle every day. We can feel bad for the child with a learning disability, fear for the child who is difficult to control, and sorrow for the child with a hearing impairment. Or we can look at these children and find their beauty. The child with the learning disability might be the most motivated child in the class. The little engine that could can teach us all how to persevere. The child who is difficult to control might just teach us not to worry so much about control. Because when he is allowed to walk around while he talks, he tells us some amazing things about history or art or science. And the child with the hearing impairment might not be able to share our music with us or the pleasure of our read aloud, but he can show us how the light in the room creates shadows beautiful enough to draw. Find the beauty all around you.

Lesson 5: Keep all conversations about the future to a minimum.

Driving for hours tends to get us talking. And, when there is a teenager in the car, the topic we adults most want to address is preparing for college and a career. Unfortunately, since it is a teenager we are having these conversations with, this often leads to tears and yelling. So the rule was, talk about what we are seeing unless she brings up the conversation about the future. It made the ride so much more pleasant.
As teachers, we spend our year preparing our students for the following year. Even our new Common Core Standards are designed to prepare our students for college and beyond. We need to remember that our children haven't even experienced the year they are in now. They don't care about next year or 5 years from now. Why should they? Let's enjoy the moment and help them feel good about what they are accomplishing this year instead of what they need to accomplish next year.

Lesson 6: Air travel needs perks again.

I always loved to travel when I was a kid. You would get that little bag of peanuts while you waited for your meal. The meal was always a surprise. Was it pot roast with gravy and potatoes? Was it turkey with cranberry sauce? For a kid coming from a kosher home, these meals were amazing. It was one of the few times I was allowed to eat non-kosher food (kosher meals were not an option on American planes then). There was always some kind of dessert with the meal, too. And then, as we sat on the plane, the flight attendant would come over with a pillow and a blanket, crayons, and a wing pin. So much fun. I would read my book, play with my puzzle magazine, write notes to my sister, and just enjoy the flight. Today, no peanuts, no meals, no pins, no crayons, blankets only on request and only if they are available. Even movies are available for a price. I miss the perks.
In school, I used to have perks. Each year, I had this amazing unit I did with my students. We studied our cultures, read about them, created projects, and then, invited parents to come in with a rice dish from their culture for a big Heritage Luncheon. I was known for this. Kids would come into the room asking if we were going to have a Heritage Lunch. Parents would start to ask about it during Back to School Night. It had nothing to do with my curriculum but the children learned so much about each other. Now, no time for perks. If it's not in the curriculum, it doesn't get done. I need to fix that. I need to bring back the perks. I need to have a Heritage Luncheon, or make candles, or raise class pets, or read exciting books and then watch the movie versions. I need the perks. The kids will not remember the essay they learned to write. But they will remember the time the newt got out and we chased it around the room (yes, that really happened).

Those are my lessons from vacation. What did you learn on your last vacation?

What Happened to My Year?

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Parisi) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 02:40:00 +0000

I realize I have not blogged in a while. There has been a reason for that. I haven't really been doing anything exciting or innovative in my classroom this year. Last week my class and I were visited by SMART P.R. They are creating a video for instructing educators about accessibility through technology. I was asked to be part of the video. As a reward for agreeing, I got the new updated, larger, multitouch SMARTBoard and a document camera with a 3-D component.

Why am I telling you this? Because two things happened as a result. One was I had to be out of my room for a day to get the board installed. This meant figuring out what I could do with my students without using materials found in their desks or in the classroom. So I took them into the science lab and spent the day working on experiments for magnetism and electricity. I set it up ahead of time with an instruction sheet, experiment worksheets, websites and books for researching ideas, and a table full of materials to try out their ideas.

The second thing that happened is I had to prepare a day for the videotaping where the kids were using technology in a unique way. So I had my first Mystery Skype call with Shannon Smith from Illinois. Mystery Skype calls are ones in which we contact another class and children ask each other questions that can be answered either yes or no, in order to figure out where we are calling. We had jobs created such as Big Map person (crossed off states on the SMARTBoard), Google Earth and Map researchers, recorder (wrote down the questions and answers so we could refer to them), videographer and photographer, Internet researchers, and questioners (answered the questions over the Skype call).

Why did both of these make me realize that my year has not been what I wanted it to be? Because while we were doing science experiments, the kids were working independently, trying things out, learning and working cooperatively with partners. I was just facilitating. I hadn't done much of that this year. And while we were running our Mystery Skype call, I sat back and watched the children take over the call and the learning. And when the day was over, and we said goodbye to the video crew, one very wise child said to me, "We are doing so many fun things since we got our new board."

Wow! Did that hit me hard! And it made me really stop to think about what happened to this year. Why has it been so different than other years? And why hasn't it been as good? Don't get me wrong. The kids do enjoy school and I do love my class. We still have fun and still do some small projects. But I have spent more time this year teaching, instead of facilitating. More time controlling instead of letting go. More time doing what I knew was not right and good for children. And I realize now that I have to stop.

I moved to a new grade this year. It shouldn't have changed much about my teaching but this grade change came along with lots of changes in state regulations, school board changes, and administrative initiatives. Here is the list of problems I am dealing with this year that I am finally saying no to.

1. Following a strict Teachers College Reading and Writing program.

We have been going through Teachers College training for a few years now. And, up until this year, I tried it all, took the best, and continued to do what I know works. But this year, I work with some excellent teachers who follow the program quite rigidly. And we meet often to discuss where we are in the program, how it's going, and what are we doing next. We share materials (enough so far to fill three large binders) and expectations are high to do the program. Up until now, I have gone along with the system. But lately I have begun to realize that I cannot work this way. I know that I cannot use a program for all of my students. I know that my "mini-lessons" are simply teacher directed instruction and, each time I do a mini-lesson, I lose at least half my students. And I know that following a strict calendar, where we cover one unit per month come hell or high water, I rush through the unit, missing the fun and important parts in writing - learning about amazing language to use, finding our voice in writing, editing. And missing the time to have incredible book discussions in reading, making the children fall in love with books and reading.

2. Following a new math program.

We adopted a new math program this year from Pearson. And the requirements are we follow the program to the letter. The problem with this? It doesn't make sense. While some of the lessons are fun and innovative, we are losing concepts, not understanding algorithms, and missing number sense entirely. Also, the lessons are, once again, very teacher directed. In fact, the book actually tells me what to say and what the response from the kids will be. And guess what? My colleagues on my grade are very gung ho to follow the program. They have let me change things around but I still feel the pressure each time they share their material with me.

3. Timing

In order to follow these amazing programs, we have been given a one hour literacy block, when no children can be pulled out. And we are expected to add another literacy hour in the day. We need one hour for writing and one hour for reading. Then reading mentor texts are a separate time, as is read alouds. The math program expects at least an hour a day. So together, that's three and a half hours. Add in one hour for lunch, and forty minutes for art, music, or physical education, and I am left with one hour a day for all the fun stuff. It used to be the whole day was fun. Now it's not.

So here I am. The year is almost done. We are heavy into test prep, trying to not be, but being pushed by administration, government, and local papers to do well. My colleagues on my grade are, of course, working diligently to prep the kids. And I am burned out. My kids are burned out. I cannot do this anymore. Even with me changing everything I can, it's too many hours in a day doing what I know is wrong.

For the rest of the year, and from now on, I am making some promises to myself and my future students.

I will keep my classroom fun and educational. While I will still teach reading, writing, and math, it will be in a way that engages the students, excites them, and lets them learn more independently.
I will bring back project based learning. My students will learn to research, communicate, and trust themselves to learn and demonstrate learning in a fun way.
I will allow the children to pull us away from our schedule when something exciting comes along that is worth the change. I like having conversations about government, politics, current events, world news. We haven't had many this year.
I will bring back more movies, creating more videos, participating in more voicethreads, writing more free blogs, and Skyping more with other classes.
I will make each day exciting so I don't hear in March that, being out of the room for one day means the best day of the year.
I will enjoy teaching again.

I hope you can all help me remember my promises and hold me to them. I want my students to learn and grow, to be successful and happy. And I am determined not to let the government, administrative initiatives, and test scores to let me veer from that goal.

Does Technology Work?

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Parisi) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 02:39:00 +0000

Politicians often decide that funding in education needs to be cut. We are all dealing with low budgets, no money for staff development and, the most common area to cut, no money for technology. In my school, that means that as my SmartBoard projector starts to wear out (and it is) it will not be repaired or replaced. As the laptops reach their 10 year mark, and stop being effective, they will not be replaced. So the technology will slowly, but surely, leave my classroom.

So I started wondering if it really mattered. Maybe we can do without. After all, the technology projects we do are mostly started by me. We have some great lessons that have nothing to do with technology. What does it really matter? And then I get my proof that technology is important to my students and their learning. Here are just a few examples of how.

1. I am giving a standard test on the digestive system on Thursday. It is the first test I am giving to my class where they actually have to study ideas and memorize body parts and definitions. In other words, they have to study. Nervous and unsure, they asked for help. I asked what they wanted. They said they wanted me to create a Google doc with questions for them to answer. I said no but they could. So one child created the doc, went around and invited everyone in and made plans for a time to get together tonight. I went in about an hour ago. The doc was full of questions and answers, over 10 children were in studying, and the chat room was buzzing with talk of the digestive system. Wow!

2. I got an email today from a student I had two years ago. She has joined the Science Olympiads and needs to build a project. She asked me for some help with finding sites that will give her ideas. She said she had already watched some videos to help her understand her topic better and now needed to work on a project. Amazing!

3. I worked on mean (averages) in class this week. Last night I got an email from a student saying she really didn't understand it and could I help her. I typed up a quick definition, found a video link and a game for her to play and sent it off. Today she told me those links really helped.

4. My students have decided that they need to get on Edmodo at night and do homework together. They wanted to know if this was cheating. LOL Little do they know that I love the idea and love that they came up with it. "If it will help you," I said, "go right ahead." I love checking in on their conversations and adding some ideas of my own.

These examples are just from last week and this week. And these are 4th graders - 9 year olds. Imagine how important technology will be to them in 5 years. They are already thinking about how technology can support their learning. Their world will never be the same.

What examples do you have to show how technology really supports your students?

Image: 'T i e d o k a+s'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7294103@N03/3383924434

Image: 'Shanghai January 2010'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35036603@N06/4296838698

Image: 'IMG_0839'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24253334@N08/4817728598

My Classroom Philosophy

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Parisi) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:05:00 +0000

As we near the end of 2011, I am starting to get reflective about my life, my teaching, my students. What has been good? What needs to change?

In thinking about my teaching, I can't help but reconfirm my basic philosophy, since this affects everything I do in the classroom. I have two main thoughts.

1. Every child in my classroom will be comfortable, supported, successful, and happy.
Sounds simple enough. But sometimes it is exceedingly difficult.

Comfortable I can handle. There is a no tolerance policy in my school for bullying but I take it one step further in my classroom. Mistakes are accepted, encouraged, recognized, named. They are not laughed at EVER. It usually only takes one time, one child laughing for me to stop this behavior. But more than stopping it, I encourage my students to discuss their mistakes. "Why did you get that math problem wrong?" "What hurdles did you face while reading that book?" By asking these questions, and others like them, often, I help my students understand that we are all struggling to learn and we can do this together.

And this leads right into support. We have these discussions about struggles openly. Johnny is working on self-control. We will all help him by reminding him gently, kindly, as friends, to stop tapping his pencil. Sally is working on memorizing her addition facts, while everyone else is up to multiplication? We will kindly ask her math fact questions throughout the day and celebrate when she finally gets it. Katy has been working on remembering to use reading strategies to help her understand better? Steve will work with her, since this is also his struggle. Support from others helps the students overcome their embarrassment. And it helps them work harder.

Successful - hmmmm. This one is a bit more difficult. We tend to think of success in terms of test scores and reading levels. But, I have come to realize that, sometimes, children first need to be available to learn before we can begin to teach them. Behaviorally and emotionally, children have to want to continue to learn. And so often, our students are beaten down before they ever get to us. I make it a point, each year, to welcome each child into the room. I will ignore the comments from other teachers about how difficult Billy is to handle, how many times he spent with the principal, how often the parents have to be called, how lazy he is, how rude he is, how unmotivated he is. This is a new year and I will pretend I have never heard any of it.

Expectations mean a lot. I often find that, when I expect these students to be "good," they are. When I expect them to be kind, and point out kindnesses in themselves and others, they work harder to be kind. I help them make friends, change attitudes, and feel more comfortable. And none of that happens overnight. So often, these children are only successful in finally being available to learn. And then the year is over and test scores are still low and reading level is still poor and I feel like a failure. Until I remind myself that this child was not even a student in September. Going into the next grade, maybe he can carry some of those lessons with him and be a student from the very first day of school.

And so I move on to happy. I do expect my students to be happy. Happy does not mean complacent. It means challenged and still having fun. It means playing games, laughing, listening to music, getting comfortable, making choices and working hard. It means struggling with something and finally succeeding. It means celebrating accomplishments with each other. It means having friends and feeling at home. It means wanting to come to school each day and not wanting to leave. This is a tall order. Especially when children come from homes that don't make them so happy.

Each morning I stand outside my room and shake hands with each child, saying hello, asking about their weekend or evening, giving a compliment, asking questions. Sometimes they tell me sad stories about their evenings and I give them hugs. Sometimes they tell me about new babies, or weddings, or family visiting. And we laugh together. Sometimes I hear about awards they've won, games they've played, and movies they've seen. We connect. And then, they can walk into the room, knowing that I care, that their classmates care, and they've let go of the outside world for a little while.

Sounds simple. It takes so little time but it means so much. It's a great way to start each day. And it really does set them up for learning. And, so many children like it that, as children walk past my room to go to their own classrooms, they stop for a handshake and a hello.

And so we come to number 2.

2. I will do whatever is necessary to accomplish my first idea.

I will stop a lesson to address a hurt, an insult, a success, an important question. I will have a class meeting if there is an issue we all need to address. I will learn new tools to keep them motivated and excited about learning. I will revamp, rewrite, rework units to make them more challenging and more fun. I will work hard each night, each morning, each weekend, each vacation to insure that I meet my goals. It's important. It's a child's life.

Image: 'untitled'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29275360@N03/3072985236

Image: 'Brothers'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9619972@N08/1350940605

Image: 'Attitude: Honest'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36624823@N04/4934498430

Language of Gender

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Parisi) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 12:03:00 +0000

This year I moved from fifth grade to fourth. I’ve taught fourth before but it’s been about 6 years. So I forgot that, for 8 and 9 year olds, gender issues crop up often. They want a separation between boys and girls. They don’t want to sit next to each other or partner with each other. But in my classroom, I work very hard to remove gender preferences. No boys and girls lines in the hallway. No ban on opposite gender partners. And a careful focus on language.

So when we had an opportunity for four students who had run our weekly meeting to choose the next week’s students, I told them each to choose someone of the opposite gender. Boys pick girls, girls pick boys. The first three students chose quickly but the last boy was quite hesitant. He looked carefully around and said, “I don’t really want to choose a girl so I will choose the tomboy” and proceeded to name Mary (name changed). Mary looked crestfallen, most of the other students gasped and looked at me, and the boy who chose was oblivious to it all.

Never one to back away from a teachable moment, I took the opportunity to discuss his decision. First, I pointed out that he had labeled Mary and had Mary talk about how that made her feel. Next, I told him he insulted every other girl in the room and had the girls talk about how that felt. Finally, we talked about the term tomboy. Some children had never heard the term before and I said I was actually surprised anyone knew the term today. We talked about how, when I was growing up in the 60s and 70s, being called a tomboy was equivalent to saying you were a feminist. And it wasn’t said as a compliment. I also explained that, for me, it made me unhappy because it meant that, when I wanted to wear a dress or makeup, I felt uncomfortable because everyone expected me to only wear pants and not care about my looks. When I announced my plans to be a teacher, everyone was surprised I would choose a typically female career.

Today, we don’t have to separate what girls can do from what boys can do. Both men and women serve in the armed forces. More men are becoming nurses and teachers. More women are choosing to be mechanics and pilots. We don’t have to be constricted by gender. And calling a girl a tomboy just pushes us back to the past.

This led to a discussion about other language we use. I am very careful to never call my students guys. Why would I eliminate half my class? Why would I tell my class that only one gender is important enough to focus on? We’ve discussed history, as opposed to herstory, Mrs. (derived from Master’s), and manufacture. We have so many words in our language that tell girls it is better to be male than female. And while I am not proposing we change all the language (I am still called Mrs. Parisi), I am careful not to perpetuate those I can easily avoid. So no guys, no tomboys, and no talk of something being only for girls or boys. And I am helping my students to understand why.

Starting a New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Parisi) — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 12:45:00 +0000

Yesterday I was able to get into my classroom to begin setting up for the new year. My first day of school with children is September 6th and our first day of staff development is August 31st, so I have about 2 weeks to get things going.

I was pleased to find that, for the first time ever, the custodians put all my furniture exactly where I wanted it. So I didn't have to start by moving around the furniture. My husband came with me and we hung bulletin board paper, emptied my closet, set up desks, and made some small changes to the set up of the room.

I have decided to start my year by making some assumptions about my students. I hope it all works out.

Assumption 1: My students will be able to handle sitting in groups and moving around the room right from day one.

Each year, I start my students in rows. I do lots of direct instruction, slowly leading them toward group work and choosing seats. This year, I decided to start them at tables. I am starting a group project during the first week of school and will use that project to help them learn to negotiate the ups and downs of working with others. So my husband and I set up desks into groups of two, three, and four.

Assumption 2: Sitting on the carpet is no different than sitting in desks.

I have a huge purple carpet in my room. This carpet is large enough for all of the children to sit in a circle on the edge and have grand discussions. I start each year with my carpet in the corner, tucked under the bookshelves to make it smaller. It isn't large enough for a circle and is just barely large enough for them all to fit in a crowded group. This year, I am going to have a grand discussion on the very first day of school. I am going to help them learn how to have discussions without me, taking turns talking, listening politely, and contributing strongly. We will start on day one with a grand discussion about what our class rules should be. So we set up my carpet right in the center of the room, not tucked under any furniture, and we set up the tables around the carpet.

Assumption 3: The children don't really use the posters that teach skills.

I love posters. I cover my walls with them. I have, for years, had posters hung up high on the wall. These posters were writing posters, talking about use of vocabulary, starting ideas, using voice, trying different genres. I loved them when I put them up and kept them because they were so hard to put up and take down. But I realize no one ever used them. The children would see them on the first day of school and forget about them after that. So I finally took them down. I will use them as I teach each skill. Instead, I put up posters about character. I realized that teaching my students to be good people is much more important to me than teaching them about using good vocabulary. I want them to learn to be strong individuals, willing to help others, and accepting diversity. I can refer to these posters often, which makes them more relevant than the skills posters. And I like the way they look.

Assumption 4: The children can handle all my UDL tools.

As any reader of my blog knows, I run a classroom with a UDL approach. I have many tools to help the students meet with success. I usually wait to put them out as I need them. The fidget toys stay in the closet, the headphones stay locked in a drawer, the spell checkers remain by my desk, etc. I have decided this year to put them all out on my UDL table and introduce the table as a tool table. As the children look for tools or need items, I can direct them to the UDL table right away.

Assumption 5: No one wants to spend an hour on the first day of school labeling and setting up their supplies.

The first day of school, every year, we spend about an hour labeling notebooks and binders, adding dividers to binders, unpacking pencils and pens, filling up supply boxes, and setting up desks. It is boring and frustrating. This year, I want my first day of school to be fun and exciting, educational and surprising. So I am going to collect all supplies and hand them out as we need them. This way, when we are ready for our binder, I can spend only a few minutes getting them ready at the beginning of a lesson and be done. This is probably the biggest change for me and I am grateful for my aide, Joanne, who will be there to help make it work.

I am excited for these minor changes. It means I am starting my year assuming my students are ready for my style...for projects and discussions, for responsibility and freedom. I am going to spend time leading them to understand how to be responsible for their learning and I will start on day one. I believe it will be the start to a great year.

The Importance of a Support System

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Parisi) — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 14:00:00 +0000

This summer I really started thinking hard about the importance of a support system. I think that, my whole life, I looked for people who would be there for me. As a child, this made me a very unforgiving friend. I had high expectations for my friends and, if you failed to meet them, you were no longer my friend. My expectations, I thought, were pretty simple...be honest and be there. When I think about it now, for a child this is pretty deep. Most children can't "be there." It's the being there that runs a support system and young children aren't really capable of being a true support system. So I have started to think about what this really means.

My Definition of a Support System

In order to be a support, one must
1. listen with an open heart.

Basically this means that when someone comes to you with a problem, you don't tell them how wrong they are right off the bat. Listen to their feelings first. Tell them you understand. So it sounds like this:

Me- "This parent is driving me crazy. Every time I open my email, there is another complaint about Suzie not understanding the homework or being bullied by her classmates. It's not what I see in school but I hate having to answer her all the time."

Supportive Friend- "Yeah, that sucks. It's hard to deal with this every day. I know you've said Suzie seems so happy in class so what is this woman's problem? She needs to get a life."

2. be honest.

Now would be the time to try to help.

Me- "I wish this kid wasn't in my class. Her mom is really crazy."

Supportive Friend - "True. Have you met with Mrs. Suzie in person yet? Maybe she just needs some reassurance. You're always much better with parents face to face."

Me- "I've been avoiding that but, you are right. I will have her come in and sit with me and Suzie. Let's find out what's really going on."

With the help of my supportive friend, I am able to vent first and get validation that my venting is justified. Then I can get down to business.

Now, obviously, this example is pretty simplistic. But I realize my support system helps out in so many ways, not just when I need to vent about a pushy parent. I depend on my friends to cheer me on when I am struggling, to laugh with me when all I want to do is cry, to celebrate successes small and large. And, most importantly, I must do the same for them.

So why has this come up so much this summer? It isn't because of Suzie's mom (Suzie's mom doesn't really exist although we have all had parents like this). It isn't because of how rigid I was with my friends in elementary school. But the importance of a support system has come up a few times.

ISTE

One of the things I miss terribly in school is a local support system. I have always been lucky enough or maybe smart enough to have found a very few people at work who can be my support system. This makes school manageable for me - knowing that, when the going gets tough, I can reach out to my friend. When my friend isn't around, I hold my breath waiting for us to meet. But at ISTE, I realized I could relax and breathe again. Everyone there is in the same boat. We work in schools where others are resistant to our ideas, where we are told to do things that go against our teaching philosophy, and where we are alone. But when I talk at ISTE, all I hear is "Me too."
This was brought home to me one day in the Blogger's Cafe. I was standing by a couch watching Kevin Honeycutt with some friends playing music with IPads and computerized guitars. It was fun. Paul Wood was standing next to me and, while we were listening and laughing, I realized it was the first time in a long time that I was comfortable with a group of teachers. I turned to Paul and told him this was just what I needed. He, a true supportive friend, gave me a hug and told me he was glad I was there. Ahhhh.

My Husband's End of Year Evaluation

My husband works in a district where parents are in control and teachers talk against each other. He had a particularly difficult time this year with his grade level colleagues and it all came out in his final evaluation. The principal wrote about issues he had with his classroom that were only issues because of his colleagues. And she only knew about them because his colleagues told her. One example...he was using email to contact parents and students. One parent didn't get the emails and complained to the homeroom teacher, who, instead of going to my husband, went right to the principal. Not a great support. He did get the principal to change her evaluation, only talking about what she has personal experience with.
He has had a rough time this summer just wrapping his head around going back to work. He has no support system there and, in fact, has to worry about the rest of the staff. And he is miserable.

My Daughter's Schooling

I have written in the past about Ali's struggles with high school. Her middle school was split into two high schools and her entire support system went to the other high school. She thought it would be okay but she has been unable, after two years, to recreate that support system in her school.
I am in the process right now of trying to get her moved to the other high school. But all the superintendent is hearing from me is that she wants to be with her friends. He doesn't understand the difference between friends and a support system. She has plenty of friends at East (her school). She just has no friends who listen with an open heart and then are honest with her. Those friends are all at West. This summer she has spent a great deal of time with them. While listening to their conversations, I finally realized what was missing at East.
BTW...I reached out to my support system and got some great advice from Patrick Higgins about what to say to the superintendent. So, after our meeting Friday, when he started with no, he moved to..."Let me do some investigating and I will get back to you." Stay tuned.

My Classroom

Now is the time I start preparing for a new year. I am creating exciting projects, looking into great books to read, deciding on a theme for the year. And what I realize now is that it is my job to be a strong support for my students and to model being supportive for others. I want my students to feel supported in the classroom. I think I do a really good job of creating this. But now I have a better understanding of why it's so important.

I am incredibly grateful to have a support system. I live with strong supports in both my husband and my mother. I work with strong supports in my own classroom. I am lucky this year to have my wonderful friend, Joanne Miller, be my aide again. And I have my amazing support system in my online PLN. I know I can always reach out to Karen Janowski, Maria Knee, and Linda Nitsche for an open heart. I know I can always depend on Paul Wood to say just the right thing. I know I can complain to Brian Crosby and he will listen and commiserate with me. There are so many of you out there who are there for me.

Do you have a strong support system? Can you reach out to support someone else?

Image: 'Strength Over Head'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/41864721@N00/3446286013

Image: 'Deep conversation'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38869431@N00/4703017753

Image: 'Class photo'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37718498@N00/2610009219

Image: 'We're thinking of you'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26406919@N00/291488094

High School ...Who is it good for?

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Parisi) — Sat, 21 May 2011 11:59:00 +0000

I've been thinking a great deal about high school lately. My 30th reunion is coming up this summer, which is bringing me back to my wonderful (read the sarcasm here) days. And my daughter is finishing up her second year, hating every minute. I've spoken to lots of people about their high school experience, read books, seen videos, and have come to the conclusion that high school isn't good for anyone. So I figured I would lay out my thinking here, in the hopes that some of you high school teachers can prove me wrong. Or maybe rethink things a bit.

Puberty and High School
The first problem I have with high school, and probably the biggest, is the fact that high school comes at a time when our brains tell us that the only thing that matters is that we fit in. And there is no way to fit in. We are too fat, too skinny, too big a butt, no butt, wearing the wrong clothes, carrying the wrong bag, having multiple bad hair days. And all of this is going on while we desperately want to be attractive to the opposite sex.

What does high school do to help with this? First, a rank is set up. Did you make honor roll? Highest honors? What is your ranking in your class? Did you make it into AP classes? Are you taking the classes for the "dumb" kids (those would be the hands-on classes - we'll talk later)?

Next, high school sets up clubs, run by high school students. Try to join a club and you have just joined a clique. The students running the club decide who does what, by popularity, not skill. Try out for a music night and get in or not, depending on your relationship with the students running the club. Join a business club and get to run the school store only if you are friends with the leader of the club. Even community help clubs...choices are work the car wash on Saturday with all the kids, or make posters to hang up on the walls. Who decides? The students running the clubs.

The Ranking System
Apparently, the purpose for high school is to pass tests to get out of high school. AP exams, regents exams, finals, mid-terms. And the purpose of the classes is to prepare for the tests. You can see my previous blog about this here. So let's take students whose sole purpose in life is to be social and tell them that all they should be worried about is how they compare on the tests to everyone else in the class, district, county, state, country. Yeah, that works. Oh, and let's put all the tests in the same week. Add more stress to their already stressed lives. I know children who come home hysterical because they didn't get the top score in class. I hear about children having anxiety attacks during testing week. I watch my own daughter study, call friends for help, cry, and stress out before each exam.

And classes are ranked, too. AP classes are at the top. Only the best and brightest survive those. Next is regents classes. These are also for top students but available and manageable by many. Then we have those "other" classes. These are the hands-on classes many kids want to take but can only take as electives. Shop class, cooking, art classes, sewing, music, etc. These are often not available to those AP students. No time. So the classes tend to be filled by students not able to make it in AP classes. Hence, the term..the "dummy" classes. Everyone wants to take them but most students avoid them if they can. And last, in our area, is BOCES. BOCES is a program for children who cannot make it in school at all. They go there to learn a trade...car mechanic, hair stylist, cook, etc. They take academic classes in between attending these hands-on classes. All of it happens off campus. I have never met a child who has gone through BOCES and said they hated it. They all love the program. But it does have a stigma attached.

The Teacher/Student Connection
In elementary school, we spend lots of time trying to connect with our students. We help them get through projects, we plan tests carefully around each other, being sure not to schedule too many at one time (mandated state tests are the exception). We help them study. We give them breaks. And we notice when a child comes in unhappy and talk about why. We talk to them before the day begins, while they're packing up, while they're in small groups, while walking down the hall. We talk and we connect. We know about siblings and grandparents, outside sports and musical awards, new births and deaths in the family.

Move to middle school and those connections start to waiver. It seems to me that middle school teachers walk a fine line between wanting that connection and not having time to make the connection. But they try.

Get to high school and it doesn't even seem to be a concern anymore. A student can go through high school not connected to any adult. Move to class, sit in your seat, don't talk, don't volunteer any answers or any information, move to the next class. See your guidance counselor only when you are told to and then, keep quiet, offering nothing of importance. Just make sure you do well in class or they might start get interested in you, even if it is only to put you in those "other" classes.

What does this mean? The artistic child is never recognized for his gifts. The slow processor goes home each night to work 3-5 hours more just to keep up. The depressed child just gets more depressed knowing she has no one to reach out to. The social child leads and follows her friends, doing just enough in class to get by. The child whose parents are divorcing, brother just died in a car accident, grandparent moving in, family having financial difficulties...that child is lost. Who can focus on school when life at home is falling apart?

Who does belong in high school?

I'm not sure this question has an answer. I think that the popular kids enjoy high school the most. They have each other, although sometimes at a great cost. I think the children of "Tiger Moms" do well in school simply because they have no choice. I think that's it. Stoners get stoned on school property and no one notices. Geeky kids get bullied daily and no one notices. Girls get pregnant. Boys deny it's theirs. Each year there is at least one major weekend incident with a group of kids getting massively drunk and destroying someone's house or wrecking a car.

Why are these children behaving this way? Would they if they had better connections to adults in their lives? I don't know the answer. I just know I have to help my own child. So, thanks to a conversation with Gary Stager, my daughter is graduating early. Next year will be her last in high school. She will receive a regents honors diploma which should put her in good standing to get into the college of her choice. She will not be taking any more AP classes. She will finish up her classes while spending half the day at BOCES in a photography program (the class for dummies). I don't care that she is going to BOCES. It has a fabulous photography program, complete with graphic arts. She visited the school for a day and fell in love. I am determined to make her final year manageable any way I can. Then off to college, which she dreams about.

So what do you think? Do I have it all wrong? High school teachers, fill me in on the reality as you see it. Those of you who loved high school, tell me why. Or maybe, let's start to redesign the schools so more students fit in. Maybe design more like BOCES. What should we do about high school?

Image: 'When your Hair Just Doesn't work'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7236030@N03/3071556652

'Electronics Club 1986'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27315689@N00/440680363

'Exams_by_Majeed'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38126668@N02/4312740974

'lecture'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23260981@N07/4625331304

'"she said no"'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/61228260@N04/5629007416

'3D Character and Question Mark'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40780016@N02/3914729343

An Update on the Denton Dynamos

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Parisi) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 00:54:00 +0000

There have been lots of positive things going on in my classroom lately but I have been so consumed with and saddened by the new politics of teaching and unions that I haven't been able to open my eyes to the wonders of my students. So I want to take this space to let you all know the good things going on.

1. An update on the creation of the Exploration Lab

As I talked about in a previous blog, after reading The Third Teacher and speaking with Trung Le of CanonDesigns, we decided to rearrange our room to better suit our students' needs. It has been a resounding success. What am I seeing?

Children at different tables seem to be more helpful with each other. They readily lean over to help each other with assignments or struggles. They offer supplies and trade emails after school. I believe this might have something to do with the fact that the children sit at tables based on their chosen "best way to learn." So the artists all speak the same language. The musicians know how to communicate with each other. The collaborators readily jump in. And the children who needed quiet know when to help and when to leave each other alone. It's really amazing to watch.

Students are quicker to move around the room, getting what they need to make learning easier or just moving to a different place in the room to get closer to the instruction if needed. They seem more comfortable being different than their classmates. So, although I run a UDL classroom and have encouraged this all year, the movement into an Exploration Lab seems to have really pushed the idea.

The children are working more independently. I know it is the spring and the children usually get to a point around this time of year where they are more independent. But this year, it seems to have happened sooner. And this brings me to the second positive happening in my classroom.

2. Becoming much more of a facilitator

The past two weeks have been interesting, to say the least. While we push toward our state testing (coming up right after vacation) and the required preparation, we have also been pushing to complete some large projects before vacation. So our days have been spent either doing test prep (boooo) or working on projects (yaaaay). And this has given me lots of opportunity to see the children at their best.

You see, when we do test prep in my room, it is limited to a 45 minute period per day. This 45 minutes is not the best, since it is primarily drill and practice, but the children are positive, knowing that it will be a short amount of time and then we get to move on to "the fun stuff."

The fun stuff is the rest of our curriculum. It's games and projects and research and collaboration and reading and writing and math and....nothing about drill and practice. Just learning. And three things we really worked on were our Moving West social studies project, our Energizing Energy science project, and our literary essays in writing.

Since we had been working on the projects for awhile, the children were well into them. They worked in groups, collaborated online with each other and children from other classes, and solved problems all day. I had the luxury of sitting at a table with my laptop and seeing their conversations and work in their Google docs. I got to quietly watch them work on scripts and props and design work. I was witness to kindness and support and laughter and perseverance.

I watched E work with H, who was upset because he wanted to do an Xtranormal video and the rest of his group wanted to do a Glog. She carefully explained to him that his video will be used, embedded into her Glog. Calmed him right down with no support from me.

I saw S lean over to T and gently help her run through the math work she struggled with. I had explained it many times but she had shut down in frustration. S didn't even think about her sensitivity. He just walked her through the steps and she was successful.

I witnessed A and her group struggle to figure out how they were going to show that their partners in Nevada were going to catapult them a fish (it's all part of a video about simple machines). How will it look like the same fish when they were splicing together two different videos? They talked with each other and chatted with their partners, finally coming to me to tell me they MUST Skype with their partners. So I turned on Skype, called in Brian Crosby, and brought the children together. What did they do? Brian's students had a stuffed fish. They put it up to the camera to show A. A said she had a similar fish at home. They spent a few more minutes talking backgrounds for their video and walked away smiling. My only job...turning on Skype.

I listened to B and his group struggle with Google Sites. It was the first time we were using it and had many issues with it. They kept getting logged out, kept losing their work, and spent much time just troubleshooting. Finally, they told me to check my email. They had sent me an invitation to their wiki, created in Wikispaces. They decided, without me, that they had spent enough time troubleshooting and needed to actually work. So instead of creating a site, they created a wiki, quite successfully.

3. Moving West Project Conclusion

Moving along in our social studies curriculum brought us to Chapter 14. An exciting time in American history, the early 1800's are explained well in the textbook but...oh how boring to read the textbook. So Lauryn, my co-teacher, and I created a project. With the help of our librarian, who set up LiveBinders for each group, we created a Google site with essential questions, topics, assignments, rubrics, and ending with a webquest. Each group had to create a site to teach about their topic. This site had to include three parts - one written, one drawn, and one multi-media. It had to answer the main essential questions and some topic specific questions. After all sites were completed, the children worked with partners from other groups to complete a webquest using these sites.

There wasn't any part of this project I had to teach to the whole class. The students jumped in, delegated assignments, met with me to explain their plans, and got to work. They gave each other homework assignments (not kidding) and begged to spend more time working. The fact that what they were really doing was research is amazing. They loved this project, learned a great deal, and did very well on their webquest.

The adults in the room marveled at how independent the students were, making great choices about projects, choosing appropriate research material, and collaborating beautifully. It was a dream project, bringing together everything we have worked on all year. And we finished it all just in time for vacation.

I love being able to share some of the excitement of the classroom, er Exploration Lab, with you all. It helps me remember why I love teaching and working with children. And it helps me push aside all the negative press teachers are getting these days. I hope it works for you too.

Image: 'Always Look on the Bright Side of+Life'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26652303@N07/3199154697

Image: 'Day 83: Fifty Fingers - Hands Together'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28362388@N00/3382838948

How I Lost Control of My Class

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Parisi) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 02:56:00 +0000

I recognized this week that I had completely lost control of my class. The students were running the show. I'm not sure how it happened but I know what started it all.

The first night of Educon 2.3, we heard a panel discussion about Innovation in Education. One of the panelists was Trung Le from CannonDesigns. He spoke about classroom design and language. Maria Knee and I, sitting next to each other, immediately thought about asking him to join us on Conversations to talk about his ideas. That night at dinner, I approached him about the ideas, exchanged business cards, and received his book, The Third Teacher (definitely worth looking at).

Prior to his joining us on the show, I scanned through the book about classroom design and got inspired. I went into school the next week and, after having a discussion with the students about what they need to work well, rearranged the classroom.

As the video shows, one of the areas we created was a music area. Then Maria sent us a Rock Star splitter which allows the children to listen to their IPods without disturbing the rest of the class. The kids were happy with the setup and enjoyed the different areas of the room.

That was two weeks ago. Last week I noticed that children who don't sit at the music station were suddenly bringing in their IPods. They didn't ask. They just did it. Every time we were doing independent work, the IPods would come out. My team kept asking me if we were going to allow this. But every time I looked around, what I saw was comfortable, productive children. Yes, there was the occasional child who spent more time choosing music than working. But those children just needed to be told that if they couldn't work with the music, they had to turn it off. Some did and some refocused themselves.

Of course, other students from other classes have noticed my students using IPods and want to know why they aren't allowed. I'm waiting to hear from the other teachers. But in the meantime, my students are now in control, and I couldn't be happier.

Image: 'Night Train'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/18303733@N00/114464004

Energizing Energy - A Success Story (?)

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Parisi) — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 04:23:00 +0000

Last year was an overwhelming year for me. You can see past blogs to find out more. But one issue that I felt I could work with was an increase in science curriculum we were required to teach. Because I quickly realized that all the units we were supposed to cover were related to energy. All I would have to do is teach a massive energy unit and I would have it covered.

So over the summer I worked and studied and fretted and talked to science teachers and finally created Energizing Energy. This project would take my students through experiments in various forms of energy and really get them thinking about the topic. Or so I hoped.

I was nervous. If it didn't work out, my students would be heading off to 6th grade with a clear disadvantage in the area of science. The teachers would really know that I didn't cover the units - which in my district consists of a box full of experiments. In order to help me work through the nervousness, I enlisted a partner, actually two. David Cosand, of Oregon, and Brian Crosby, of Nevada, both willingly (or maybe not so willingly) joined in. David, unfortunately, had to drop out early on due to some class difficulties. Brian has come aboard wholeheartedly.

We are now nearing the end of this project, which actually started in September. We have a final presentation for the children to do but the end is in sight. So as we add our conclusions, I would like to reflect back.

I remember planning this summer. To start, I never thought it would actually work. Brian kept thinking I had this all under control and knew exactly what I was doing. Ha. For starters, science is not my forte. I depend greatly on other experts to help me understand the concepts. Good thing Brian is better at understanding science concepts than I am. For another, I have never undertaken such a massive project before. I knew going in that I was attempting to cover 6 science units in one. So it would take a looooong time. I didn't know if I could ever get anyone else to agree to work on a project for so long. I should have known Brian would be up for it.

Working with a new class is always interesting. They had very little technology experience. So everything we did was brand new. They were introduced to Google docs, Skype, Discovery Streaming, BrainPop, wikis, and CoveritLive just to work on the research and collaboration aspects. Other tools will be used for the presentation part. Teaching them internet etiquette, patience with technology, and how to work collaboratively took some time. By now, of course, they are most comfortable with all our tools.

I remember thinking, around the end of November, that this will never work. The research was taking forever and I wasn't really sure they were understanding their form of energy. I was almost relieved to hear Brian saying the same thing. We decided to meet in small groups together, skyping our lessons, to help push their understanding. After those skype sessions, I really felt the students had a better handle on what was expected.

Once we started writing our experiments, I realized the children really had no idea how to write an experiment. They didn't understand what a hypothesis was, had no idea about variables and constants, and couldn't write understandable steps. More small group instruction and we got them back on track. I think this part says a great deal about our science boxes. I always felt I wasn't really teaching my students anything. They had a workbook that they followed to complete the experiments. They never wrote their own experiments or questioned the results. For the first time, I was asking them to really behave like scientists.

We included others in our lessons. My physical education teacher, Mike Lesak, came into the room and taught my class and Brian's class about golf clubs as levers. We then moved into the gym to measure the clubs and test out his lessons. My aide's son, Nick, who is on the college golf team, joined us in the lesson. And the band teacher contributed drums and drumsticks (Nick also plays the drums.) Once the kids got into volleyball in gym, Mike just continued the science lessons there.

The past two weeks, we have been performing our experiments. We had to adjust our expectations a bit. We thought all the students would perform all the experiments but materials were hard to come by, and time is flying. So instead, each group performed their own experiment while the other children either wrote up the results in the Google doc or carried on a conversation in CoveritLive. This has been the most exciting science time I've ever had in school. For the first time, my students and Brian's students were talking about changing variables and trying the experiments again. They were discussing unexpected outcomes and why it might have happened. Conversations about mass and density, temperature and materials, even location were going on all day. My students are so enthusiastic about their learning that I have decided to have a science day. Next week, we will have a day where all the experiments will be set up and the children can change variables and predict the outcomes. I can't wait to film that day.

The children will not complete group presentation demonstrating their knowledge about energy and their form of it. I think the presentations will be fairly easy. This is what my students have been doing all along. But what have they learned about science? That mistakes turn into more experiments. That results are often not what we expect. That hypotheses can't be wrong, so they don't need to be changed to match the results. And, most importantly, that science is fun! You can read some of their blogs to find out how much they loved experimenting.

I think what I like the most about this project is that it was like a science experiment itself. I never knew if it would work. While all the other fifth grade teachers rushed around finishing up each science box, I just kept plugging away at my research and development of experiments.

I am surprised by the results. I thought they would learn about energy. I had no idea they would also learn so much about experimenting.

I had to keep adjusting along the way to help my students be more successful. Thankfully, having a partner like Brian makes that so much easier. He never once flinched when I said, "We're changing the next step." You should all be so blessed with a great collaborative partner.

Next year (yes, next year, Brian), there will be some changes. But for now, this has been a very successful science project.

A UDL Classroom in Action

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Parisi) — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 22:22:00 +0000

Recently, a teacher, who I have much admiration for, asked me if I could share a UDL lesson with her. This was when I realized that, even those who seem to know, don't really understand UDL. So let's see what a UDL classroom in action looks like. But first, once again, I will explain UDL.

According to CAST, "Universal Design for Learning is a set of principles for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn.

UDL provides a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments that work for everyone--not a single, one-size-fits-all solution but rather flexible approaches that can be customized and adjusted for individual needs."

UDL is not a lesson plan, it is a program.

Here is a typical day in my classroom. Please note that all names have been changed. I work in an inclusion classroom with a full time co-teacher, a full time aide, 22 children, 9 IEPS/504s, 4 gifted students, 1 ESL student, and a variety of levels, behavioral issues, and academic issues. I also have wonderful children who love coming to school, working hard, and collaborating with each other.

8:45 - 9:10 - We unpack and listen to announcements. Sam and Esther take the lunch count. Sam is not comfortable talking in front of the class so he allows Esther to call for children to raise their hands if they are buying lunch. Sam counts the raised hands and writes down the numbers. Meanwhile, Abby's seat neighbor reminds her to hand in her homework, since she seems to forget each day. Johnny sharpens all his pencils, since he pushes too hard and breaks his points often. Martin gets help from the aide to organize his desk and get ready for the day. If he has items on his desk, he gets easily distracted, so his desk is turned around. He needs to get out of his seat to get anything from his desk. He also puts his water bottle on the nearby table so he doesn't play with it and puts his snack toys on my desk.

9:10 - 10 - Math time. We split into two groups. Group one heads down the hall to the "breakout room." There they will work on writing word problems that match a given multiplication or division problem. They are ahead of group two. Group two stays in the room. They use their multiplication charts (everyone has them on their desk) to solve computation problems. Bobby uses the SmartBoard to work out his problems since it is easier for him to work on a large area. Susan grabs some graph paper so she can keep her columns straight. Johnny carefully rewrites his problems then asks his seatmate to check and make sure he copied the numbers correctly, since he is notorious for miscopying problems. Gerry starts clicking her pen, looks at me and quickly grabs a koosh ball to keep her hands busy while she works out the problems.

10 - 10:45 - Reading time. Book groups meet together. All groups are working on fantasy books, but all at different levels. I meet with the Amazing Readers. They are reading a very high level book. Their job is to read and carry on a discussion in Edmodo. Patty, a great conversationalist, helps lead the discussion, moving her group through some pretty sophisticated ideas. Darryl, an ESL student, sits with a dictionary to help her decipher the words. The Lightning Readers are working on drawing pictures to match the text. They are reading on grade level but seem to miss details. So now they must focus on the details. Bobby asks the aide to copy the page he wants to draw. This way he can highlight parts of the text, as needed, to help him find details. Allison helps her group, the Awesome Readers, decode the simple text and summarize each chapter. They practice fluency while they read into their toobaloos.

10:45 - 11 - Snack time. All three adults help students with homework questions, finishing up projects, and blog assignments. The children have free time unless they are getting assistance.

11 - 12 - Social Studies. The children are working on Constitution Projects. Martin, who is dyslexic, grabs a textbook from the closet and rereads the chapter on the Constitution, using his EZC reader to help him read. All the children have them available as needed. Sally gets a computer and looks at some BrainPop videos for support. Darryl goes right for the Discovery Streaming videos that were put into her assignment. Patty opens up her Google Doc and starts taking notes, chatting, in the Doc, with Eli about the rubric and what they are missing. The teachers sit at tables and children gravitate over for support and guidance. The aide helps Harry negotiate collaboration techniques. As a PDD child, he much prefers working alone. So he convinces his group to let him take the notes and make a comic book out of them.

12 - 1 - Language Arts - Sign of the Beaver projects are almost finished. One group, full of artists, has decided to create a coloring book to demonstrate their knowledge of their theme. One group is making a newscast, complete with commercials and a weather report. One group has opted for a digital story with pictures they created. One group creates a screencast from the SmartBoard. Each person is contributing what is best for them and the group.

Lunch time!

2 - 3 - Writing - During my mini-lesson, I write the steps to a personal essay. Jessica asks ifs she can please write it on the SmartBoard so it can be printed out and taped into their notebooks. So while I talk, she types. When it is done, it is printed for all.

That's a typical day. We have used multiplication charts, fidget toys, computers, calculators, the SmartBoard tools, Toobaloos, video cameras, digital recorders, text books, BrainPop and Discovery videos, Edmodo, graph paper, and each other to help make learning more accessible and help make us more successful.

I have not planned to use all these tools. I just made them all available. Children move around freely, sitting on the floor, on pillows, the rocking chair, their desks, and tables. They get computers, fidget toys, calculators, special paper, special pens/pencils/markers when needed. They ask for help or receive support from their classmates and the teachers. There is no shame in needing help, no shame in wanting tools. It just happens. I introduce tools, encourage their use, and, by this time of the year, they just up and get them.

This is a UDL classroom. Sometimes, it looks chaotic. Sometimes, it seems the children are more in control than the teachers. Many times, children advocate for themselves, asking us to do something (like using the SMARTBoard to write steps and printing out the page) that just makes good sense. But there is no excuse for not succeeding. All the pieces have been put into place. Now the children just need to use them.

How can you set up a UDL classroom?

Who Fits School?

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Parisi) — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 15:33:00 +0000

Lately I've been finding myself in more and more situations where I encounter a struggling child and a frustrated teacher or parent and I think to myself, "This child does not fit into school." I'm not sure if it is happening more because of changes in schools or I just am more aware of the situation. But I am getting more and more upset about it.

Case 1:

A kindergarten boy whose teacher is frustrated because, although academically he is doing fine, he cannot be "controlled" in the classroom. He jumps around, breaking items in the room. He runs in the halls, banging into other students and teachers. He can't sit during carpet time, can't sit at his table without disturbing other children, and doesn't follow any directions to "behave".

As I listened to this story, I felt bad for the teacher. She is a great teacher, very frustrated by this student because he has no structure. She finds herself "being mean" to him (her words), which is not in her nature. But I also felt for this child. Because I pictured him in a year or two, beaten down by the system. He will learn to control himself. He will learn to sit in his seat, comply during carpet time, walk quietly down the hall. He will learn to behave. But what will he lose in the process?

Case 2:

A child in my own fifth grade class. I think he probably was the kindergarten boy when he was 5. He has now learned to walk in the hall, mostly quietly, sit in his seat, most of the time, and keep quiet during the day. But this is not who he is. Is he bright? Very. Is he learning? Very much so. But he prefers to bounce around the room, playing with toys, doodling on his post-it notes, cracking jokes. And in my class, most of the time, he can be himself. He works well with others so group work is great for him. He enjoys sitting on the carpet during direct instruction, and he really likes spinning on the stool. As soon as he leaves the room, there are issues. He doesn't fit. And he is happiest being himself. So he comes back to the room unhappy. I bribe him to "behave" elsewhere. It works. But neither of us is very happy with the situation.

Case 3:

A fifth grade boy I run into at the doctor's office every once in a while. He is talkative, friendly, and happy. Until he talks about school. Kids bully him, he says, because he is struggling with the academics in his class. His teacher, he says, allows the kids to laugh at him. The last time I saw him, he happily told me he switched classes. Mom informed me he was moved into a self-contained class. She said the stress was not worth keeping him in inclusion. It didn't work for him. I keep thinking about similar children I have in my room, who struggle academically but NEVER are they made fun of . We find their strengths and celebrate them. He didn't fit into this teacher's classroom.

Case 4:

My 1st grade nephew, Henry. He is very bright, in a gifted class. But the teacher insists he does the 1st grade work. He attends a third grade after school math program, which he loves. He says Wednesday is his favorite day of the week. Wednesday is Ice Cream Day and Math Day. Does he like school the rest of the time? Yes. Why? He has lots of friends. What does his teacher say? He is disruptive and too social. My sister urges the teacher to give him more challenging work. The teacher refuses, saying he has to pass the test and needs to learn how to solve those problems. He is now becoming a problem child in school.

Case 5:

My daughter, Ali, a sophomore in high school. I have talked enough about how she doesn't fit in school. I read her blog often. All she talks about is waiting for high school to be over so she can start her real life. She complained to me the other day about how difficult tests are. I asked her what she would do if she could demonstrate her knowledge in any way possible. Her answer, "An oral test." "What if it wasn't a test? What would you do?" She had no answer. She said she couldn't even think of an idea. I cried in private later.

I am just sad so often. I find myself falling into the same trap of forcing children to "fit" so they can pass state tests, or work on the mandated curriculum, or follow the mandated program. I fight it often and spend lots of time with my door closed and my students happy. But I don't think it needs to be an either or situation. There has to be a way. I don't blame Henry's teacher for forcing him to learn the test material. Her job probably depends on her students doing very well (gifted class, remember). I don't blame the Kindergarten teacher working so hard to get her student to behave. She has testing requirements and curriculum too. And he takes a great deal of her time to control. I don't blame my daughter's teachers for not making school more than test prep. They are doing what they have been told to do.

But I think all of us need to push back just a little. Maybe just once or twice a year, do something different. Make your students happy. Let them be the artists, clowns, gymnasts, writers, readers, talkers they really are. We might all be amazed by what they can accomplish when they are allowed.

AFTERNOTE:
A parent, whose child was in my class last year, just sent me this podcast with a note - "It's the one about Zack Booth Simpson...he goes on to make the point that you do need education and schools, but some people learn in different environments." Then she writes, "I also wanted to let you know that, in summer camp,D... chose to write for the newspaper. He is starting to get a bit used to sixth grade."

Image: 'wince'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33163914@N04/4673090335

Image: '5 of 8 Girl dances at water's+edge+on+Morro+Strand+State+Beach'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72825507@N00/2678310549

Image: 'Nestle KitKat ice cream cone'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22508531@N08/3743009727

The Times They Are A-Changing

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Parisi) — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 13:09:00 +0000

I've always been a teacher who relishes change. I have volunteered to have my grade changed four times, my room changed three times, and my district changed three times. I changed while I watched others do the same thing year after year after year.

At first, I thought it was wrong. I remember a teacher who worked in my school when I first started. I walked into her room one day right before school started. She reached into her desk, pulled out her plan book from the year before, opened to the first page and announced, "I'm ready." Wow, I thought. I can't wait until I am that good. I happened to mention my desire to my principal who told me, "You don't ever want to get that way. Keep growing and keep learning." I didn't really believe him at the time. I believed that there was only so much to learn and once you learned it, you were done and ready to just keep doing what works.

Well, I obviously learned, over time, that this just isn't true. The learning never stops. I haven't hit my limit yet. I am a good teacher...I'll even say I am a great teacher. But each year brings more challenges I need to overcome. Those darn kids keep changing on me. LOL

So here I am, 25 years into my career. I have watched many ideas come and go. I have embraced most of them, until I realized (usually long before the administration did) that things weren't working. Whole Language, Lesson Study, Math Their Way, OrtonGillingham. While all of these ideas have great benefits, they also all have great detriments. As an educator, I truly believe that it is my job to reach everyone. And if the programs don't reach everyone, then something needs to change.

Whole Language, for example, replaced a phonics based program which was boring and taught only decoding skills. Whole Language made learning exciting and meaningful. Comprehension was key. The problem? Kids with difficulties needed phonics, too. In fact, most of the kids needed phonics, too. But it wasn't built into the program. So, while I continued presenting at conferences about Whole Language, while I continued teaching colleagues in district about Whole Language, I began to build a program incorporating phonics back into the reading program. And every time I demonstrated my program at a conference, participants would breathe a sigh of relief. They knew it too.

We are now learning about Teacher's College writing and reading in my district. It is being fully embraced by the administration. We have trainers coming in. We are being sent to TC for workshops. We are being given multiple materials, lots of in house support, and dicta to meet frequently with other members of the grade level to coordinate our work.

And, as usual, I see some great benefits to TC reading and writing. The language used makes teaching the steps to crafting simple. The kids are reading and writing much more than ever before. At least that's what they say. And it's very individualized, sort of. (The initial lesson is whole class, the majority of work is partner work, and conferring with kids occurs as quickly as I can make it around the room.)

But I also see detriments. It took me too long to get to conferring with one child. By the time I got to him, he had almost finished his book but couldn't tell me anything about it. I was angry. With the program and with myself for allowing this struggling reader to get by for so long reading alone or with a partner.

The whole class lessons, while short and sweet (8 minutes is the goal) still only reach about 50% of the kids. So I am losing 8 minutes of valuable instructional time with 50% of my students.

There is a literacy block we were given to ensure that no pullouts were to occur during reading and writing. My literacy block is one hour. I come back from lunch, have one hour of literacy, and go home. I need more than that. One hour is too long for either reading or writing and too short for both. So the timing doesn't really work for me. Plus, that precious 2:00 - 3:00 time is the only time I am in school at the same time as our partners across the country. We need that time to collaborate synchronously.

Okay. In the past, once I saw detriments, I would change up the program. Keep the good, get rid of the bad. And I have ideas. After all, language arts is something I have always been really good at teaching. And I have the data to prove it. So I want to keep the TC language, maintain the amount of time spent reading and writing each day (I always did that anyway), keep the celebrations, keep the partners. But I want to step in often. Small groups allow me to meet much more frequently than individually. I want to group kids according to need and meet with them daily to help them jump the hurdle and move on. I want my literacy block to be 1 1/2 hours and in the morning. That gives me a good 45 minutes for both reading and writing. I want to keep coordinating reading and writing. We are writing fiction and reading historical fiction. I like that. Makes sense. Can talk craft in both reading and writing.

The problem? For the first time in 25 years, I am getting push back. I am being told I cannot change my literacy block time, I must coordinate with the other fifth grade teachers, doing what they are doing, when they are doing it, and I must keep the format of mini-lesson, partner work, individual work with conferring, and ending mini lesson. For the first time, I am being pushed into a lock step, spoon fed program. I am not able to use my wisdom and knowledge of my students to change things at all. I am not able to keep the good and get rid of the bad. The belief is that, once I really work with it and learn it, I will love it and see the benefits. But I already do see the benefits. I just see deficits, too.

For the first time, teachers in my district are told what to teach, when to teach it, and how to teach it. We were always told the what but had so much leeway with the how and when. Not so anymore. And it makes me not want to teach anymore. The times are changing but I am not comfortable fitting into the mold. Thanks, Barack Obama and Arnie Duncan for pushing Race to the Top. Thanks, NY for buying into it. Thanks, administration for accepting it. Thanks, colleagues, for falling into it. Because of RttT and the fear of accountability, I am being held back from doing what I know will help my students. Hold me accountable. But let me do it my way, failing or succeeding on my own terms. I will pay the consequences if my way fails. But I will not accept the consequences if your way fails.

I am sad. Maybe it is time for me to go. I hope retirement age comes quickly.

'X is for...340/365'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10563720@N03/3752428880

'Lost on stairs'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73491156@N00/1435420692

'Paris Clocks'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/34517490@N00/2743877537

'Ouchy'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21560098@N06/4260085365

Meet the Teacher Night

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Parisi) — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 20:38:00 +0000

Last week I had the opportunity to meet Ali's teachers at Meet the Teacher Night. Ali is now in 10th grade and most of her classes are AP (advanced placement) classes. Apparently, AP means "just like college". They use college textbooks, college vocabulary, have college requirements, and, when it is over, should receive college credit. Nothing like pushing things a bit.

Now, Ali has not really liked school much...um...ever. She has her moments. Lunch is usually fun. Phys. ed. is always a favorite class. And any class with a friend is worth staying in. So this year, I was quite surprised to hear some positive things about her teachers. I was actually looking forward to meeting some of them. And then I got there.

Each teacher has 8 minutes to talk. They have 8 minutes to tell us their goals, get us excited about the class, present us with the most important information. And then it's off to the next class. I began in math. Ali likes her math teacher. She says she's funny and hands out candy. Anyone with candy is a hit with my daughter. So I was looking forward to meeting Mrs. C. She started by telling us she has 32 students in the class. It's packed and she doesn't have much time to help anyone during class. Extra help is after school. Then she told us her goal...prepare for the regents. This class is not an AP class. It is Algebra 2/Trig. So Mrs. C. spent a great deal of time telling us how the children would find it difficult to pass the regents but she would work with them all year and they would eventually do well. When is the test? Late May. So all year, they will practice for the regents.

Other nuggets from Mrs. C.: "I'm much older than the other teachers who teach math. I've been doing this a lot longer. Your child will never come home and say I am cool. But I know what I'm doing and they will learn." (She was younger than me!) Another nugget: ready math teachers...."Tell your kids to study every day. You will not be able to help them cram for a test. You don't remember this stuff because you took algebra and trig so long ago and nobody uses it in real life." Sigh. Since Ali likes this teacher, I can only assume Mrs. C. needs to work on her elevator speech. She needs a new one.

On to Spanish. Ali's take on the Spanish teacher - she has a great style and great hair. I agree. I also found her funny and sarcastic. Oh...her goal for the year...practice for the regents. That was it. She did reprimand me, in a joking way, about texting during class. I was texting Ali. Oops.

Next came AP Euro...European History. Ali hates social studies but this year, she loves it. She loves her teacher, finds it relatively easy to understand, and enjoys the class. Mrs. R. gave her goals in 8 minutes. "My goal is to inspire your children to travel. And I want them to learn how to analyze and evaluate history so they learn to love it." Will they take the AP exam? Yes. Did she talk about it as a goal? Nope. She said they'd be ready and moved on. I LOVE THIS TEACHER! (Yes, I told her so. And I told her how much Ali loves her class.)

AP Biology was next. Mr. S. spent the entire 16 minutes (double period) telling us how he was running the class exactly like a college class. He lectures and they take notes. He will not go over notes. He will not go over chapters in the book. They must read the chapters and outline each one, study each night, and be prepared for ....you got it...the AP exam in June. Guess how excited Ali is with this class. When I asked if there were any labs, he answered, quite sincerely, yes. "In fact," he said, "we have one tomorrow. There are twelve throughout the year." I thought the university biology teacher parent who was sitting next to me was going to fall off her chair. So this class, apparently, is designed to prepare them for the AP exam and turn them off of college. Well done!

I gave up at this point and went looking for the principal. He was wandering the building and couldn't be found. I did find an assistant principal who listened to my tirade and gave me a story about how New York State does require a lot in the regents and AP exams. I told him I was a NYS teacher and knew all about the exams. I also told him that teaching to the test meant children were turned off. "There has to be more to school than preparing for a test that comes in June," I complained. "There is much more going on in class," he countered. "Well then why didn't I hear about it?" No response. Finally he told me he would relay my message to the principal.

So here I am. Blogging my frustration, once again. But I have no solutions. My daughter is staying put in public school. Money, time, and geography do not allow a change. I will continue to keep her excited about learning, separating it from school as much as I can. And I will continue to play down the tests when I talk to parents. Learning is so much more important than passing a test. And I will continue to hope that next year will be better.

Image: 'Superbokehtheorie' http://www.flickr.com/photos/37977505@N00/2421129047

'8minutes'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/54284499@N00/2205105178

'Milady, did you enjoy the museum?'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59771526@N00/3088524413

'I don't dig texting.'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8699239@N04/3772984885

In the Clouds'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/65768710@N00/2276988258

'bored during my Management class. |:'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26381765@N04/5023500204

'frustration'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/76172701@N00/2157057475

My Dreams for School

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Parisi) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 00:54:00 +0000

Education Nation is NBC's attempt at fixing the American education system. We'll talk about it, invite in all the best and brightest (except educators, but let's not go there now) and find all the solutions. So I watched the Teacher Town Hall on Sunday with bated breath. We even cancelled Conversations so it wouldn't interfere with the Town Hall meeting. What did I hear? Same old, same old. Get rid of bad teachers, get rid of tenure, throw money at the system, be more equitable in educating our children. How are we going to do that? Ummmmmm. Yeah.

Now, I'm not saying I have all the answers. In fact, I'm not saying I have any answers. But I do know what I want for my child and my students. I do know what I want for my future leaders.

1. I want my students to want to learn. I want them to love coming to school, not wanting to run out or run home at the end of the day.

2. I want school to be more available. Does someone need help finding a quiet place to do homework? Stay in school until it's done. Need more time to finish up a project? Come in early. Don't have a working computer at home and want to blog about a class? Come to school early or stay late and use the school computers.

3. I want homework to be only what is necessary to complete a project. It should not be homework for the sake of homework. It should not be homework given because the teacher ran out of time to cover all the curriculum. It should be work the child wants to do to prepare for his group the next day. It should be work she wants to finish because she was working on a problem she couldn't put down.

4. No tests. Assessments should be meaningful and directly related to learning. The children should be assessed on how they work, as well as what they learn. And all assessments should be used to further instruction, not to penalize a child or put a grade on a report card.

5. I want children to move through school as they are ready. Not pushed because the year is over. Not held back while all their friends move up. Doing advanced math in first grade? Work with children who are on the same math level...not necessarily first graders.

6. I want all children to feel successful. That does not mean I do not want all children challenged. School should be challenging...but in an exciting, enriching way, not in a boring, nerve-wracking way. But we need to find ways to allow children to express their understanding in a variety of ways. And we need to find a multitude of ways to allow children to access information. Disabilities do not always relate to intelligence. But in our school system, it sure seems like it does. Let's get rid of this idea.

7. Along with #6, I want children to be compared to themselves, not other students their age. How much progress has the child made in reading, math, writing, social skills? Compared to last year? Compared to two months ago?

7. I want all learning to be integrated and periods to be untimed. Learning should not be done by the clock. If you are engaged in a massive math project and just have to work a bit more on it before you stop for the day, then, by all means, go right ahead. That's not to say there shouldn't be things that all children learn at some point (curriculum) but let's keep the curriculum broad and based on how to learn, more than facts.

8. I want, I want, I want. I just know school can be better. I want my daughter to bounce home every day excited by what she learned. Instead, she comes home each day telling me what an awful day she had. I want my students to know that, when I am kicking them out at the end of the day, it is only because the bell has rung and buses are waiting, not because I don't want them to stay. I want to love every second of school, not keep saying "Oh, time for a state test now" and "No we can't keep reading our books because we have to go on to math." I love math but sometimes we really don't want to switch subjects. We are too into blogging, or reading, or working on projects, or solving math problems, or playing a game, or....

I know what I want. But I have been stuck inside this box so long that I can no longer "think outside the box" to find solutions. Can you? I don't think NBC can.

Image: '139 rose tinted glasses'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99757245@N00/3546899246
Image: 'Exams_by_Majeed'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38126668@N02/4312740974
mage: 'ÙØ§Ø², ÙÙ Ø ÙØ§ØªÙ Ø¥ÙØ¬Ø§Ø²'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13045581@N00/3337567081
Image: 'veritum dies aperit'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73584213@N00/322654818

Why I Became a Teacher or My Experience in School

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Parisi) — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 23:00:00 +0000

All my life I wanted to be a teacher. Really, all my life. For as long as I can remember, I read my books to my "students" who looked amazingly like my stuffed animals and my poor cat. I got my best gift when I was about 4. It was a blackboard. I spent hours giving math problems to my students. My older sister got into the act, "allowing" me to use her homework as my assignments. So I did her homework with my class and she copied the answers off the board and got the credit for doing homework. We were both happy.

My first real experience with school was nursery school. No preschool then. Just a cooperative nursery school in the local church. Each day we would play and build and run and laugh and sing songs. And once a day, Miss Helen took me into a back room to read with her. Apparently I was the only child in the class who could read. I thank my sister who let me do her homework. I loved nursery school and really looked forward to heading off to kindergarten.

Kindergarten lasted for about one month. During that time, the school psychologist (he was a huge man who just walked in one day and told me to come with him to his office to talk) tested me, found out I had a high IQ and decided I needed more than kindergarten. They wanted to move me, a 5 year old, into second grade. My parents said no only because my sister was in second grade and they didn't think we should be in the same grade. So off to first grade I went.

My first grade teacher, Mrs. O, was near retirement age when she got me pushed into her room. She made it very clear from the start that she did not think I belonged in first grade. Whenever I did something "kindergartenish" the kids would laugh at me. Her response, "Remember, she's just a baby." That title lasted with me throughout my whole 12 years of schooling. She also allowed the kids to roll their eyes when I was the only one who knew the answer. It was not cool to be smart. I hated first grade.

Second grade, Miss P. She was beautiful...a true flower child. I remember absolutely nothing I learned but that The Partridge Family was THE show to watch and David Cassidy was a dream. I loved second grade.

Third grade....nothing. I remember nothing. Not my teacher, not my classmates, not any curriculum. Must have been a hell of a year.

Fourth grade I had Miss B. She was strict. She did things that when I look back on them were horrific. She told poor Ross that if he could not sit in his seat, she would tie him into it. He couldn't. She did. We all laughed, including Ross. But it must have been humiliating. Just as humiliating as it was for me to have my desk dumped out on a weekly basis because I couldn't keep it clean. But I do remember her reading aloud to us each day. She'd sit in her big rocking chair, we'd sit on the floor around her and she'd open up our world to Peter and Fudge.

Fifth grade was the last grade I had a teacher I remember. Mr. C. was my first male teacher. He told my mom at the beginning of the year that he knew I knew all the curriculum so it was fine with him if I sat in back and read all day. I was thrilled. But, thinking back on it, that was a disgrace. And it certainly isolated me even more from my classmates.

Junior High was torture. I was bullied daily, started meeting with the guidance counselor, and got into things no junior high student should get into. The funny thing is, I still wanted to be a teacher. But at this point, I had no idea why.

High school was another nightmare. I did my best to disappear. I got Cs in most of my classes, making sure people forgot I was the smart one from elementary school. I barely graduated. But I did. And moved on to college where I got my education degree.

I haven't regretted a single moment of that decision. I love teaching. I make sure that my brightest students get the enrichment and challenges they need to be engaged in school. I make sure that teasing and bullying are completely unacceptable and not allowed in my classroom among my students. I make sure that my hyperactive students can stand up if they want to without being laughed at or tied into their seats. And I make sure that I read books that open the world for my students. I love teaching. I didn't have any good role models but I sure had some bad ones to help me figure out what not to do. I love teaching and can't imagine doing anything else.

Why did you become a teacher?

Image: 'blackboard easel'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32654149@N00/498963924
Image: 'DSCF1394'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/18333991@N00/2386770223
Image: 'ick'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27039676@N06/4444972038
Image: 'The Partridge Family Shopping Bag'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12836528@N00/2811160258
Image: 'I Heart Flickr Pink Purple Nail Polish+in+Heart+Bottle+Creative+Commons'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40645538@N00/220224419

The First 7 Days

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Parisi) — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 12:20:00 +0000

I really dislike the beginning of the year. I feel like I spend my time waiting. Waiting for the class to become a family, waiting for the projects to begin and kids to get out of their seats, waiting for the kids to be comfortable with our routines and to stop asking for assistance with them. Waiting for the year to begin.

As readers of my blog know, last year was particularly difficult. It seemed like it took the whole year to get into a routine. But this year is so different. Yes, I have an inclusion class, which brings with it a multitude of learning issues. Yes, I have a new co-teacher, which means helping an adult learn the routines, as well as the kids. Yes, I still have a massive amount of stimulus money training, meaning lots of time out of the classroom. But somehow, we have already gotten into a routine of sorts.

Friday was our seventh day of school. School this year started with two days of school followed by two days off for Rosh Hashana. It's very hard to set a routine when you are not in school. And this is how the first four days seemed to me:

Kids sit in their desks and listen...to me introduce routines, to me introduce class materials, to me introduce beginning units, to me introduce technology tools. (Feel free to yawn. They did.)
My talking kept getting interrupted by support staff coming in to schedule reading, speech, OT, and ESL.

Day 5 I finally introduce assignments that are fun and long term. The children were excited and delved right in. So by day 7 we had an amazing day. Here's what we did on Friday.

While the students were working on their Hopes and Dreams in their new Google apps Google docs, I sat at my computer and sent chat messages to them about their work. The word "cool" came up quite often as students discovered the ability to chat with me in Google docs.
Three computers were set up in the room throughout the day and students rotated through to create a Voki that will be embedded on their blog.
My aide took students out of the room in small groups to add their voice to our Sign of the Beaver prediction VoiceThread.
The students worked on making their blogsites attractive while Lauryn (my new co-teacher) and I edited blogs and worked with individual students.
The students began moving - to see the BrainPop video better, to get a fidget toy, to grab a calculator to check work, to ask a friend for help.

This was the first day that my room felt like some semblance of what it should. Students moving around, talking while working, asking each other for help searching for images, reconnecting to our internet server, editing their writing. We still had some time sitting in seats listening to me but for most of the day, it was a fun day of independent and group learning. Hurray for early starts!

Image: 'Welcome to the Machine'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/51035553780@N01/2311845824

Image: 'dozer'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32855138@N00/130267790

Image: 'So happy =)'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/97831130@N00/1066368855

Ch-ch-ch-changes

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Parisi) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 13:23:00 +0000

"Turn and face the strange changes...Time may change me, but I can't trace time." by David Bowie

When I was....um, younger...I used to spend hours listening to David Bowie. This song in particular, Changes, I felt was written just for me. And as I go through life, the lyrics come back to haunt me every once in awhile. Now is one of those times.

This year I am facing some big changes...personally and professionally. And I am trying hard to face the strange changes with dignity and calm. Not so easy all the time.

Change #1:

South Paris Collaborative is no more. Christine and I are no longer working as partners. I have a new partner, Lauryn Tiedemann, and a new name, The Denton Dynamos. I think bringing new eyes to my program will be a positive change, allowing me to try new things with the students. But I am approaching this change with some trepidation. Will Lauryn be up to the task of working with me and all my demanding ways? I do admit I have very high expectations of both my students and those I work with. So far, our meetings have been positive. Tomorrow I find out how things go with children in the classroom.

Change #2:
Ali is heading into tenth grade. Time to think about driver's licenses, more freedom, college. All while dealing with 15 year old emotions. One thing that isn't changing...our time waiting for high school to end. Each year I hope this will be the year. The one where Ali finds that one teacher who will motivate, excite, and understand her. The one year that will get her reinterested in school and learning. Will Richardson recently wrote a blog about parents that actually got him called out in ISTE's Learning and Leading magazine. In the blog he asked, "why aren’t parents more angry about the education their kids are getting?" A fair question and one I ask myself often. But, by this time in her education, I have given up fighting with my school district and her teachers. Instead, I tell her that things will be better when she is in college. And I supplement her education at home the best I can. Although at her age, this is getting harder and harder, since I am no longer smart enough to teach her anything (at least that's what she hints to me frequently). So, once again, I hope this year brings the changes we both are looking for.

Change #3:
My dear husband has embarked on another Master's degree program. He began the Wilkes/Discovery Masters program online. First I should tell you a bit about my husband. Frank was hired in his district as a computer teacher. He enthusiastically introduced websites and projects to his colleagues and worked with the students in his elementary school. Two years into his career, his district cut their budget by replacing all the computer teachers with aides. He was placed into the classroom as a fourth grade teacher. While disappointed by this change, he was excited to bring his technology knowledge to his classroom. He set up a Ning for his class, started a blog for his students, and sent out letters inviting all his parents into his projects. The administration immediately told him to shut it all down. It wasn't safe. He shut down the computers and has been teaching without technology for all these years. So it is exciting that he is trying again. At this time, he has just begun his degree in Media Technology, starting with his first two classes, one on PBL and one on the brain. It is so much fun talking with him about issues I've been dealing with for years. He is reading Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind and Krauss/Boss's Reinventing Project Based Learning. Both of these books have contributed to my classroom. It's wonderful to see him excited about teaching. This is a change I look forward to.

Change #4:
Conversations is coming back. Okay, so this isn't really a change but Sheila Adams, Maria Knee, and I have all been through some changes this summer and I am sure we will bring our new perspectives on education into our Conversations. For those of you who don't know what I am talking about, we run a show each Sunday morning on EdTechTalk.com. This show is about educational conversations. We choose a different topic each week and discuss, disagree, laugh about, cry about, and dissect it. You should come join us. See the changes in our show this year.

Change #5:

Personal changes: Frank got a new car, we put pavers down on our driveway, patio, and pool area, and I got braces. While these are all good changes, they all cost quite a bit of money. So, for the first time in a long time, we are in debt. I think I will have the pavers paid off by Christmas and the braces paid off by April. But it will mean tightening our belts a bit. Not something I am happy about. So I spend a lot of time in my beautiful new yard and remind myself it was all worth it.

Can I face the changes? I'm certainly going to give it all a try. What changes are you going through this year?

Image: 'David Bowie - ChangesOneBowie'
www.flickr.com/photos/19586382@N00/2853612678
Image: 'X is for...340/365'
www.flickr.com/photos/10563720@N03/3752428880
Image: 'Waiting for Time to Pass'
www.flickr.com/photos/70243696@N00/342753239
Image: 'Custom Graduation Bot'
www.flickr.com/photos/7315825@N04/4809971201
Image: 'Piggy savings bank'
www.flickr.com/photos/11121568@N06/2638883650

Learning About My New Students?

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Parisi) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 02:22:00 +0000

August is coming to a close and soon school will begin here in New York. A new year means new students, new parents, new personalities, new challenges, new everything. Each year, at this time, I am faced with a decision - should I talk with former teachers about my new students or should I form my own opinions first? There are pros and cons to each choice.

Maybe I will meet with former teachers and learn something about a student that will turn me off. Now I have a preconceived notion about a child before ever meeting that child. I had a situation like that last year. A particularly challenging student was placed in my class. His teacher spoke to me at length about his behavior. By the time our conversation was done, I did not want this child in my class. Why go through the hassle? But, of course, I don't pick and choose. He came into the room. I had a difficult time seeing past the behaviors that had been described to me to really see this child. He turned out to be funny and charming. And his behaviors were manageable. But it took a long time for me to see that.

Maybe I will meet with former teachers and learn something about a student that just isn't correct. I remember one very bright child I had a few years ago. His former teacher found him arrogant and rude. I found him to be the most considerate student I have ever taught. Where did she see arrogance? He was smarter than she. He was smarter than me, too. So he questioned everything. I found this exciting. She found it rude.

I often find that I feel differently about students than other teachers. Students who cause trouble are my specialty. I find them to be a challenge and usually end up favoring them as I get to know them and find out why they cause trouble. (Shhh. Don't tell anyone I have favorites.) But when I talk to former teachers about these students, I hear only negatives.

But sometimes a teacher has been successful dealing with a particular student and his/her struggles. It then benefits me to speak with him/her. A simple conversation telling me that "Susie" needs frequent breaks to avoid meltdowns can save me tons of aggravation.

Sometimes teachers have good advice for working with certain parents. Telling me that Mrs. X has a different last name than her child and insists on us using it is important. Letting me know that Mr. Y will call every day if I don't send home an email letting him know about his child saves me endless hours on the phone. And being sure that I understand that a translator is needed when meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Z, helps me get on the right track to a good partnership.

So the problem I have each year is this. How do you know when you should talk about a child and when you shouldn't? Sometimes that choice is easy. I refuse to talk to the teachers who only tell me negative things about the children. There have to be some good things to say about each one. But sometimes the decision is more difficult. How do I know why a former teacher had difficulty with a student? Maybe it was because his methods of dealing with said student were different than mine would be. Maybe I will be more successful simply because I try something new.

What to do? What to do? Responsive Classroom says to learn about the students. But I think I will stick with my usual plan....get to know the students on my own. Be respectful to all of them. Think the best. Then when I have struggles, I can go to the former teacher with very specific questions instead of a general, "Tell me about Johnny."

How do you handle this decision?

Image: 'Support "Set For Success" School Supply Drive'
www.flickr.com/photos/24639568@N00/2768163918
Image: 'scream and shout'
www.flickr.com/photos/91883096@N00/3766009204
Image: 'This is the face of arrogance'
www.flickr.com/photos/78707360@N00/3654517945
Image: 'Studying'
www.flickr.com/photos/71235231@N00/57364421
Image: 'Not all questions can be answered by+Google'
www.flickr.com/photos/99564668@N00/3885498720

The Success of Project Based Learning

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Parisi) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 23:51:00 +0000

This has been a rough year. The students had difficulty becoming a cohesive class, we struggled to make groups that would work together, and there were some who used technology inappropriately. Often, we start out this way but, by December or January, the class is really moving. Not so this year.

I'm still struggling to figure out why this is. Yes, there were students who had social issues. But I always have that. Yes, there were students who were over or under assertive. But I always have that. Yes, there were students who had hardly any technology skills to start with. But I always have that.

I think part of the problem was lack of time to work on creating a cohesive classroom. Our district adopted many initiatives this year that took both Christine and me out of the classroom often for various training sessions. Having substitutes try to teach children to be cooperative doesn't work very well.

I think another part of the problem was our frustration with trying to incorporate all of the initiatives into our already successful program. Surely, although we tried very hard not to let it, our frustration must have transmitted to the students.

Although I might never have the definitive answer, I will continue to think things through in the hopes of making them better next year.

So, if the year was so difficult, and many projects were left by the wayside, why did I call this blog "The Success of PBL"? That has to do with the end of the year.

About 6 weeks ago, Christine and I sat down and looked at all we still had to cover before school let out. We had two major units to cover - one in social studies and one in language arts. We also had a health unit and a writing unit.

The health and writing units were easy. Health at this time of year is Family Life - otherwise known as sex education. Even though it is a teacher directed unit, the kids love having the discussions and learning all the (gulp) details about sex and reproduction.

The writing unit was easy because it was poetry. I love teaching poetry, love presenting the students with my favorite poems, love seeing how they interpret and then create their own poems. They move from hating to loving poetry. This was a no-brainer.

But social studies and language arts. We started with language arts - tall tales. Each year when we do this unit, we have the students work as groups to read and retell a tall tale in a unique way. We were skeptical about whether or not this class could handle group work anymore. We had mostly stopped working on projects for a few months and were hesitant to start up again when the kids were in a "school is over" mode. But we were willing to give it a shot. It was a project we had done before. We had all the material we needed and really didn't have to do much preparation.

The next unit, the Civil War, was much more difficult. This was a unit we had never done as a PBL unit. We always taught it as a teacher directed unit due to lack of time. But we decided to give the kids another chance at projects. So we created a wiki, complete with essential questions, resources, and requirements. We created groups based on interest and crossed our fingers that the children would be able to work together.

The language arts projects were fun for them to work on. They enjoyed creating props and costumes, trying out accents, and playing parts. They weren't as creative as we would have liked but they did learn their stories. You can view them on our website.

The Civil War project far surpassed my wildest expectations. This was the first unit we did no preteaching for. We gave them the resources, suggested they start with the textbook (never discount the textbook as a great beginning resource for basic information), and sent them on their way. And they came through. For the last few weeks, the class has been working diligently to complete these projects. Along the way, they have shared their information, collaborated on ideas, and helped each other out. They really learned about the Civil War. I think much more than they would have if we had done all the teaching. And they really embraced the projects.

Today is the last Monday of school. Tomorrow is our last full day. Usually, at this time of year, we are watching movies, playing outside, and watching the clock slowly tick down the hours until dismissal. But with this project, the children haven't had one moment of free time and they haven't complained a bit about that. They worked all day today, preparing for presentations tomorrow. The whiners aren't whining. The bossy kids aren't bossy. The followers are leading. The slackers are working. There isn't anyone who isn't trying their hardest to complete this assignment and support their group members. PBL was a success.

So I ask myself, "Why is it that the class who couldn't manage to work in any group cohesively and cooperatively were suddenly able to pull it all together for one final project?" Maybe it has to do with us finally trusting them and just giving up the reins. Maybe it was about how we gave them so many options this time - choose your topic, learn your material, choose your presentation method. Don't like your choice? Then change it. The tool you chose isn't working. Find another one. Maybe they have learned enough technology to make all the right choices, do all the research and be successful independently. Maybe they were just bored enough to try again.

Whatever the reason, I'm glad to end the year with this success. It reminded me why we have a PBL classroom to begin with. And it reminded me that everyone deserves a second (or third or fourth) chance. Especially children. And very tired teachers.

Image: 'Difficulty'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21375717@N00/73788470

Image: 'frustration'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/76172701@N00/2157057475

Image: 'PAUL_BUNYAN_POSTCARD'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/69805768@N00/595001955

Image: 'Lincoln : Gettysburg Address text'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/81859405@N00/361303918

Image: '3d people partner.'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40780016@N02/3915512588

Why Won't More Teachers Set Up a UDL Classroom?

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Parisi) — Mon, 31 May 2010 11:57:00 +0000

Karen Janowski recently posted a tweet once again expressing her consternation with teachers refusing students tools for success.

This question seems to come up often with different tools. It really got me thinking about the true reason teachers will not set up a UDL classroom. But before I get into reasons, a little background on UDL is necessary.

UDL, or Universal Design for Learning, is, according to the National Center on Universal Design for Learning,

"a set of principles for designing curriculum that provides all individuals with equal opportunities to learn. Grounded in research of learner differences and effective instructional settings, UDL principles call for varied and flexible ways to

Present or access information, concepts, and ideas (the "what" of learning),
Plan and execute learning tasks (the "how" of learning), and
Get engaged--and stay engaged--in learning (the "why" of learning)"

CAST, The Center for Applied Special Technology, does a wonderful job of explaining what a UDL classroom would look like. But I am going to simplify it here.

UDL means providing all students what they need to be successful. This can be as simple as allowing the child who struggles to remain seated, to stand during class. It can mean providing fidget toys, spell checkers, laptops, highlighters, pencil grips, multiplication charts, etc. It can mean finding a place in the room for children to take breaks without missing out on learning. It can mean giving extended time for tests to all students, not just the ones with mandated IEPs.

So what needs to be in place to actually create a UDL classroom? What prevents teachers from creating one? In my opinion, the following needs to be there:

1. Educators must believe that they are responsible for teaching every child.

I know that right now you are saying, "Of course. What else would teachers do?" But think about this. Have you ever given a test, had a bunch of students fail, and said, "Well, I guess they didn't study?" Have you ever taught a lesson and watched that one child who stops paying attention and then just ignored that child? I think we have all done this from time to time. We say all children should be successful but maybe we really mean all children who are engaged and work hard should be successful.

Once we wrap our heads around the idea that we, as educators, are

responsible for helping every child meet with success, then we begin to examine reasons why some children aren't. My own daughter, who is not classified and, therefore, does not have an IEP, requires extra time to take tests. She is a slow processor (which causes me much angst when I am trying to get her to make a decision) and she is not a great test taker. When she has teachers who give her that extra time, she is successful, getting As on tests. When she is held to a 42 minute period, she often does not complete her exams, severely lowering her grade. I am eternally grateful to those teachers who allow her, and other students who need more time, to come back during lunch or after school to complete the exams. I think this should be standard practice. Why shouldn't she be allowed to actually demonstrate her knowledge of the content instead of always demonstrating her processing and test taking skills?

Let's talk about that child who checks out during class. Often, it has to do with a teaching style. Maybe this child can't really concentrate during direct instruction. A simple solution is to use CoverItLive with your class. This chat room allows students to discuss the content being taught while the lesson is happening. It keeps them engaged, helps them formulate the new learning into their own words, and provides them with a new way to demonstrate knowledge.

Another simple solution - have students draw pictures for note taking during class. Imagine the child who sits doodling during every lesson. Make those doodles meaningful. Instead of drawing hearts while you are teaching about the Civil War, have the student draw quick pictures of each event.

Hopefully, you have noticed that none of these ideas changes your teaching at all. But it allows more children access to your information.

2. Educators must teach students how to access tools and then allow them the access.

Okay, this one does take some time from your class curriculum but imagine if your students had been taught how to access tools earlier in their school career. You wouldn't have to teach them anything.

I also know that, in order to show students how to access tools, you need to be familiar with them yourself. Lucky for us, Karen Janowski and Joyce Valenza created an incredible wiki to help us in this endeavor. You can even give the URL to your students and make it a homework assignment for them to explore the site and find two or three tools that would be helpful for them. Now you have removed the time from your class and have made it clear to students that they will be allowed to access these tools as needed.

3. Educators must give up that position of power to allow students the freedom to do what they need to be successful.

In our classroom, during a typical teacher directed lesson, we might have two students on the carpet in front of the room, one student standing in the back, three students with Koosh balls rolling around in their hands, one child typing furiously on the laptop, and one child getting up to get the Franklin Dictionary to check new vocabulary being used. It takes some getting used to. For most people watching, it looks a bit disorganized. The children appear distracted with all the movement but the reality is, they don't even think about it anymore. We start a lesson and they move into position. Who is taking notes? Who is drawing? Who is typing? Who is filling out a graphic organizer? Who is standing? Who is squeezing a toy? All children are engaged in their own way and we can focus on the content.

When students in our class are working, as they most often do, on projects in groups, that's when the room really hits its chaos mode. Children who need quiet ask to work in the hall, outside by the tree, or in our breakout room (a guided study room used for anything but guided study). Children who thrive with noise remain in the room with their groups talking, discussing, pulling out equipment, hitting our UDL drawer for tools, heading online to access more tools, etc. To any outsider, learning isn't occurring. But get closer and you will hear the conversations going on...the learning, the synthesizing of ideas, the discussions about methods of demonstrating knowledge. Also within those groups are children using their own tools to access the same information. So one child has a textbook for its resource. One child has opened up Discovery Streaming or BrainPop to find videos on the topic. One child is taking notes from internet articles. And one child is moving from group member to group member, asking questions, getting data, taking it all in.

It becomes controlled chaos. And it was very hard for me, as an ultimate control freak, to allow. I wanted quiet. I wanted them all to do the same thing at the same time. But I realized quite early in my career that doing the same thing at the same time left an awful lot of students by the wayside.

Once educators truly embrace these three ideas, success follows and every child can feel good about what they are learning in school. Why not try just one to start?

Image: 'Hmmm'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42359338@N00/971611970

'heart'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/71477195@N00/185711235

'What CAN you do in here?'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11080385@N05/3210445645

'Classroom Graffiti'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28330040@N04/2642908744

A Really Good Day, or What I Learned in School Today

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Parisi) — Sat, 08 May 2010 11:48:00 +0000

This has been a difficult school year. I have a particularly hard class to work with, lots of new district initiatives to spend time on, and, personally, some time-consuming projects at home to handle. But last week, for the first time in months, we had a really good day at school.

The morning was spent on various projects, with all the children working...yes working. I didn't have to stop them once to get them to refocus, get them quiet, or get them to stop fighting.

One of the boys, "Johnny", who has trouble working with others, was convinced by his group leader to work with someone in the group he did not want to work with. And it was all done with him laughing about it.

One child in class, "Billy," showed two acts of kindness during one math project time. This is not a class known for acts of kindness and to see it twice in one lesson was amazing.

Another child, "Sally," who is known for having difficulty focusing, working, making herself available for learning, has become the ultimate student - focused, hard working, helpful to others. And she is actually learning math and social studies, reading and writing.

I spent time going over extra credit projects for our social studies simulation. This may not sound wonderful, but this class is notorious for NOT doing any work above and beyond what is expected of them. And it took me almost an hour to go through all the amazing projects that came in.

When the children went out for lunch, I begged, yes begged, them to be kind and respectful outside. And, for the first time in months, the lunch aides had nothing to tell me about someone fighting, cursing, crying, or complaining.

I went home that night happy and energized for the first time in a loooooong time. And now I am starting to try to figure out why this perfect day was followed by another almost perfect day. Here's my take on it.

First, my personal project was finally completed two weeks ago. (Some of you know what that personal project was and know it took me a year to complete. For the rest of you, you will have to wait for the official announcement.) Finishing the project lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. You might actually say I am now more relaxed. And a relaxed teacher makes for a relaxed classroom.

Second, we had a problem with Google docs a while back and had to stop all projects. So for the last couple of months, much of our work has been teacher directed. The children do not respond well to teacher directed lessons. This class especially needs to move and talk and laugh in order to learn. Teacher directed lessons do not allow for any of that.

But about two weeks ago, we started projects again. And last week, for the first time in awhile, all we did was work on projects. The children were talking and moving and laughing and, most important, working and learning. It was fun.

Third, and, I think the most important, is children really do learn. It might take them all year to learn the one lesson you are trying to teach them but they do learn.

So "Johnny" has been working all year to learn to accept an assignment he might not be terribly happy about. And to work with people he might not want to work with. I think he finally learned. My proof is that, later in the day, when he was with a different group and not happy about it, after I spent time talking with his group about their assignments, he said he'd keep his assignment because it sounded fun, and he worked....really worked...for the first time all year.

And "Billy" has been hearing all year that we must be kind and respectful to everyone. So have all the other children but "Billy" was ready to finally learn that lesson. So he offered "Katie" an extra poster board he had when she ruined hers and he let "George" and "Vicky" store their poster boards with his in his special poster board bag so they wouldn't get ruined. They didn't ask for this kindness, he offered. I took notice, the class took notice, and "Billy" got written in the Golden Book for the day.

And all year, the children have heard from us that they have to make themselves available for learning. We are not there to pour information into their heads. We can help them, provide all the tools they need for success, and be their greatest cheerleaders, but if they don't meet us at least a quarter of the way, we cannot force them to learn. "Sally" took the longest to learn this lesson but she finally did. She is proud of her work now and proud of herself.

So for the first time in months, I praised the students for their behavior, their work ethic, their kindness. For the first time in months, I left school happy. For the first time in months, I went two whole days without seeing the principal after lunch. And, for the first time in months, I enjoy what I do. I want to hold on to this feeling. I want the children to hold on to this feeling. And I think they will. The next day was just as good and they are really enjoying the projects. They actually want to work on them.

I hope next time I get a class like this, and there will be a next time I am sure, I remember that my attitude affects them, that projects are a better way to handle behavior issues, and that praise goes a long way toward changing unwanted behavior. For now, I am going to enjoy the last couple of months of school.

Image: 'Pro'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/18619970@N00/802481830

Be Kind by by arimoore

' 'Sharing some chalk'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/46095695@N06/4564281079

'Remember...'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26235754@N05/2879892326

Spring Time

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Parisi) — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 14:30:00 +0000

Spring has finally hit New York. We had massive rain followed by beautiful, sunny 70 degree days. The trees are budding, crocuses are up, and animals are returning. I love spring time - the beginning of growth and warmth. I love the renewal of life, the energy of the earth, the chance to spend time outside. But for the first time, I began thinking about what spring means to my fifth grade class.

In school, spring is not the beginning but the ending. This is the time of year we are rushing to finish all of our curriculum. This is when my fifth graders start learning about the middle school, choosing a language to take and a music class to join, meeting the guidance counselors, and visiting the school itself. This is time of year when annual reviews begin filling our days. It is time to decide what kind of program our classified students will follow in the middle school. It is testing time. How well have all the classified students and AIS (academic intervention services) students learned this year? It is budget time. What will we need for next year that we either used up this year or never had and really need? It is time, even, to consider what to teach next year. Will I stay in fifth grade or move again to a different grade? Will Christine and I stay together or is it time to move on? What decisions will our principal make regarding next year? And once those decisions are made (June 1st is the deadline), how will I start preparing for any changes?

Yes, for school, spring is not a new beginning but the ending. It is time to reinforce all the important ideas for my students. Do they know how to advocate for themselves? Have they learned how to be kind and respectful of others? Do they understand the importance of learning? I only have three more months to teach them. Is it enough time?

I think I like the balance in my life. The juxtaposition of the earth beginning again and the year ending again. Maybe it's appropriate that I will send my students out into the world, away from the safe, secure harbor of the classroom and the elementary school, during springtime. Because, while it may be an ending for me, it is a new beginning for them. And I hope they all grow well.

Image: 'Budding'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/79477324@N00/52289813
'everything comes to an end'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/49014237@N00/103761668
'Daisy blue 1'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/52352295@N00/181354778

I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Parisi) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 13:31:00 +0000

I am not a creative person. At least that's what I've been telling myself my whole life. I don't draw well, paint, color. I don't quite know how to decorate my house. I don't have a vision for my gardens - in fact, I hate gardening - love looking, hate gardening. I don't even wrap presents well. Gift bags were the greatest invention ever!

But lately, I've been coming up with ideas and I'm starting to think that this is my creativity. I am an idea person. I don't always know how to implement these ideas but I have many. Of course, they all seem to center around teaching. That is, after all, where my brain seems to be most focused. And one of the great things about teaching is, I don't do it alone. I might not know how to get it going, but I know who to turn to for help.

Case in point:
Yesterday, my class took a trip with the art teacher, Maria Monda, to the Heckscher Museum in Huntington. This is a trip we take each year and, therefore, we see the same paintings in the collection each year. One of them is George Grosz' Eclipse of the Sun. This painting was done during the Symbolism period in the 1920's. The museum liaison spends time with the kids picking out the symbols in the painting. While the kids were listening, I had a brainstorm. The creative me came out and turned to Maria, saying, "Why don't we do that with the kids? Make a symbolic picture?" We talked later about it and now I have just finished planning the project. I am introducing symbolism in poetry and literature. Then we will discuss social issues we face today. Kids will chose one and work with the art teacher in the computer lab creating a symbolic picture about their chosen issue.

Point 2:
Our science program is in the process of being completely revamped. What that means for me is I was given about 16 more weeks of science to teach. Go ahead...ask me if anything was removed. I know you know the answer to that one. So, as a result, for the first time in 25 years of teaching, I feel it is literally impossible to teach all of my curriculum. At first, my solution was to complain...to my co-teacher, to my husband, to my science coordinator, to my principal, to my union reps. Guess where that got me. Exactly. So I went back to my science coordinator, Sharon Judge. You should know Sharon is the new science coordinator. She has been a classroom teacher in the district as long as I have so we have a history together. This makes it so much easier to work with her. Back to our meeting. She spent time telling me she would help me out in any way she could but I still needed to cover everything. I looked and looked at the list of topics and a brainstorm hit! Four of the units are about energy: light, natural resources, simple machines, and plant tropisms. So Sharon and I began to talk about my idea. Next year, I am going to teach one large unit on energy. Children will work in groups on different topics and create....not sure yet. But when all is done, they will know about energy through simple machines, plants, light, natural resources, and then some. PBL comes into play and I will have 16 weeks worth of science done in about 6. Voila!

Point 3:
I have two chapters to cover in social studies before I can move on to my next project. It is the only time of the year the social studies textbooks come out. These two chapters are so full of information that it would take too long to teach each event one at a time. So we use the books. It lays the groundwork for our Westward Expansion project. Last year we had the idea of using CoverItLive to engage the students in the textbook. It worked well but I really wanted to get away from direct instruction this year. So Christine and I talked and, you got it, brainstorm! We took all the topics in the two chapters, broke them into four main categories: politics, geography, people, and events. We then made four groups of 6, with each student responsible for researching one topic in a category. Once the research is complete, the larger group of 6 will be creating a timeline and a picture book about their category. The children have mostly completed the research and are now working on the project. When it is all done, they will present to the class. We will have covered the background information needed to move on and the kids are having a ball learning history.

So how does my creativity rely on others? Without Maria Monda, the art teacher, I would never be able to bring the symbolism idea to fruition. Without Sharon Judge, the science coordinator, (who, incidentally taught my light unit this week), I would not have made the connection to energy and would not have come up with a way to consolidate my science units. Without Christine and the librarian, Anne Brusca, I would not have been able to coordinate and implement the history project. I've also gone to the band teacher for music support, the speech teacher for VoiceThread response support, the reading teacher for book ideas...the list goes on and on. And, of course, my PLN is invaluable for assistance in how to implement my ideas.

I can no longer work alone. Teaching used to be a very solitary field. But, for me, not any more. My ideas are so much better when I have support to implement them. And for that, I am grateful to you all.

Image: 'blythe - floral bag packaging'
Image: 'Driving into the future'
Image: 'Day #2: Back to the grind'
Image: '3d people partner.'