The Versed Educaster

Global Education

2013-03-10T10:36:00.000-05:00

As I near the end of my formal education after 21 years in the classroom as a student, I find myself reflecting more and more on things my teachers did right, attempted to do right, or things that did not go so well throughout my education. On my return flight from the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association conference in Columbus, Ohio this week, somewhere over Kentucky, I found myself reflecting on the use of video conferencing with a class in Russia that my eighth grade social studies teacher attempted on a regular basis. I began to laugh. The teacher, Mr. Bonedise, attempted almost weekly to get the conferencing device to work. Throughout the entire year, I think we were only able to conference one time, but I do admire is persistence! Keep in mind the year was 1995 and technology in the classroom was a very new concept in most schools.

Looking back on Mr. Bonedise's class, I realized it was the beginning of my desire to learn about other cultures around the world. Sure it was not the best attempt at learning about other cultures, since this was also pre-NCLB (No Child Left Behind), so we spent the majority of the class period simply watching him struggle with the video equipment and attempt to remain calm. Nonetheless, this class sparked my interest in attempting to learn about diverse cultures.

Today, feats such as classroom video conferencing through the use of programs such as Skype have made communication with other classrooms halfway around the world more accessible and less frustrating. However, I am not sure teachers are taking advantage of this global learning experience.

Some teachers might ask a few of the following questions when contemplating video conferencing in their classrooms:

Why would my students want to talk to other classes or people around the world?
What does video conferencing have to do with my standards?
What benefit would conferencing with others around the world have for my students (especially their test scores)?
Is there any real-world application to video conferencing or is it a waste of time?

All of the questions are things I have contemplated throughout the use of video conferencing in my classroom, even when Skyping with a military pilot in California. No matter what the reasoning is students become more motivated and engaged in a global conversation when video conferencing is utilized in the classroom. The world is no longer separated by oceans. In fact, many businesses rely on video conferencing in order to hold meetings, make decisions, and even hire employees.

Isn't it about time classrooms in America start inspiring students to become global participants in the world we live in?

What is Tech Ed in Schools?

2013-03-09T20:34:00.001-06:00

After attending a technology and engineering conference this past week, I began to wonder- What does teaching technology in current, cutting-edge, 21st century classrooms look like? Should it mean that every student has their own handheld devices? Should it mean that students are learning about concepts techies would need to know in the real-world such as "AVG cable"? Or should it mean that students are building items with glue and wood like I did during my middle school technology class in the mid-1990s?

After pondering these questions throughout the three day conference, I realized that there is not one universal definition of what tech ed is; therefore, I realized I had to create my own definition of what tech ed should look like in my own classroom.

Tech education is more than a mere computer education class in which students learn about basic programs such as Office and presentation products. To me my middle school tech ed classroom should utilize a plethora of free apps, diverse terms, facts, and historical contexts, as well as a variety of programs that students can continue utilizing in other classes or in their free time. I realized during my pondering that the most important part of my class is to instill within my students the appropriate skills needed to work with technology and other people in the real world.

I hope to never forget the special moments during my first year of teach technology that I have had throughout the past three nine weeks. There have been times when students have been so excited to come to class to share about the flight simulation game they had been mastering on their own at home. Or the students who have worked to integrate video editing software on their own computers and cannot wait to share their products with me.

Some of the most meaningful moments this year have come from students utilizing the technology we have learned about in class on their own. Shouldn't that be the goal for all tech classes? Real-world application of technology programs, applications, and concepts should be the goal for all tech ed programs today.

Educator Collaboration

2013-01-21T10:36:00.002-06:00

Professional Development in education has been a hot topic since I entered the field of education over ten years ago. No matter how many different sessions I attended, it seemed as though something was lacking.

During the last few months I have taken a hiatus from blogging and from attending professional development. Instead I have focused on growing my online collaborations with educators from around the United States and the world. And I have never felt so inspired as a teacher.

Through the use of social media applications, such as Twitter, I have been able to follow educators discussing discipline in the classroom in a time-sensitive, real way. I have been fortunate enough to gain creative ideas for not only my classroom, but also other teachers in the building as well. While I wouldn't go as far as to say I've made new friends, I have definitely found educators that I look forward to reading their posts every day and even multiple times a day.

If you haven't been accepting of the Twitter hype up until now, I would highly recommend you create an account today. The great thing about Twitter is that you can be the back row teacher who observes everything going on, or you can choose to be the front row activists who interjects during every other idea. Either way you will gain so much from the collaborative educational community which is taking to social media networks.

For those who are interested in starting out but don't know what to do, may I suggest you set up an account and then start by simply "Discovering" #edchat. Through #edchat you will discover educators who inspire other educators, who are diverse in their ideas, and who are ready to learn from your experiences.

I only wish I could get PD credit for all of the hours I spend on Twitter these days!

@jessawarner

Grading

2012-06-11T09:41:00.000-05:00

Recently while presenting my qualifying paper at Union University, I found myself reflecting on the important things in education, most specifically the judging of learning. There are many debates among educators, parents and students about how grading should occur throughout the educational process. Currently, my professor at Union grades all assignments based on improvement. Having never had someone grade me like this, I have been fascinated, enthralled, and enraged all at the same time. After my presentation last week, I realized my negative feelings towards grading this way was more due to the unknown about how the grading occurred (I'm one of those that likes to know my grade every step of the way).

Often times people will argue that a perfect paper is the only thing that should receive a perfect grade, while others will disagree that improvement should be what is judged and graded. As an educator improvement and perfectness are both difficult concepts to grade and defend, especially in an inclusion class.

When it comes to something being perfect, what if a situation stands in the way of something being "perfect" at that moment in time? Along the same lines, a student could be dealing with a lot and it is an accomplishment that they are showing up each and every day to school. Improvement most likely won't happen until whatever is causing them to struggle is alleviated.

So I guess my question to you today is what is really the best way to grade students' learning? Is it through judging "perfectness" or improvement? Maybe its a combination of both ideals. Or maybe its not to grade students at all.

Summertime...Blessing or Curse

2012-05-24T06:54:00.000-05:00

Since summer in Sumner County began this morning I found myself contemplating my childhood summers. The swim team, the pool, the soccer field, the friends, the barbecues, and the traveling came to mind. However, yesterday as I polled my students about their summer vacation plans many of them had the same answer- I don't know. I quickly realized that many kids today don't look forward to the same simple pleasures I was afforded summer after summer. In fact, some students don't look forward to summer break at all.

As the final bell rang yesterday, a student was hanging out in the library. This student has lived for the library this year. Before school and after school he has been seen just hanging out in the library. No, he isn't really a reader, so to speak, but he is a student whose home life was drastically changed in the past two years with the loss of his brother.

This student was hanging around the library as some of the other students rushed by him eager to start their summer break, because he knew that yesterday was the librarian's last day at our school. Unfortunately, this young man has not only lost his brother, but his favorite librarian and "safe place" were changing with the librarians retirement. My heart ached for him.

So as my summer days rush by as they often do, I hope that I am reminded that there are students somewhere, of all ages, shapes and walks of life, that are eager for school to start back in order to be welcomed back to the "safe place" in their life.

Thank you to the teachers I had after the summer of 1997 who welcomed me back to school after the loss of my mom.

Common Core

2012-05-13T11:10:00.002-05:00

As minor as my opinions might be in the field of education, I want to be sure I express my thoughts about the Common Core Standards before they become lost in translation or transformation!

In 2006 as I was holding parent teacher conferences in a small town called Clarksville, Tennessee, I was asked bluntly by a military parent, "Can you ensure that my son will be competitive with his peers if we are to be relocated to Alaska next year?" My heart sank, because here I was presented with a question, I must admit, I had never thought about. This particular parent had just returned from Iraq and was facing PCSing (what military call relocation) to a new Army post in Alaska and he was concerned his son could not compete with fellow fifth graders in Alaska.

At that point in my career, I had taught in Alabama, Tennessee and New Zealand, but the thought of the differences in standards had really only crossed my mind in 1993 when my parents moved me to Tennessee and I found myself at least a year ahead of my peers in my learning.

When I heard about the educational initiative, the Common Core Standards, established by several governors two years ago my heart rejoiced. Finally, the military father who had worried about the education of his child could be guaranteed that his son's education would not be hindered due to the various locations the military sent him. Also, I had realized that more and more American citizens have become more mobile, making this initiative a necessity if states want to ensure that all of their students have the same base knowledge.

Last week while watching the Kentucky Derby I noticed that various companies have begun running advertisements in support of the Common Core Standards, and I hope that doesn't deter some from supporting this much needed educational change in America.

Dewey on Education

2012-05-13T10:58:00.002-05:00

As an educator, have you ever read any of the multiple works that John Dewey wrote in regards to education? I must admit that until last summer, I hadn't either, which is really a shame. Dewey has been one of the most masterful minds behind educational theories, philosophies and pedagogues. He envisioned an educational means in which students were placed in the center and taught democratic life-long lessons.

It is my belief that every educator should be required to read Dewey's work before ever setting foot into the classroom.

Transformational vs. Informational

2012-05-13T10:55:00.001-05:00

Last summer I read a book about transformational teaching and it truly opened my eyes to why I become so frustrated with other educators. I agree with the authors almost 100% about why and how we teach students; however, there are several teachers I have encountered in my short career that probably would not agree with the principles discussed throughout the book, Transformational Teaching by Rosebrough and Leverett.

For those of you reading who are unfamiliar with transformational teaching, it is basically the why and how we teach- to transform the whole student. Contrary to transforming students is the common practice of feeding them information so that they can regurgitate their knowledge on a test. Transformational teaching involves teaching problem solving skills and identifying areas of strength and weakness in each student in order to challenge them to become the best they can be.

I always dreamed of being a transformational teacher- a person who touches the lives of others. Unfortunately, I feel as though I have gotten away from doing just that. In the book the authors mention that teachers can only control 14% of the factors that affect whether a student learns or not. Throughout the past two years I have been extremely frustrated with a lack of resources, which I felt had been holding back my ability to meet individual needs of students, as well as the attitudes of others in my building. The resources I speak of could be anything from a table with chairs to technology. While the attitudes of some of the fellow teacher are that of if a student does not understand a concept the first time they haven't tried hard enough. All of which I have realized this year as simple excuses. Transformational teaching doesn't need any of these things.

If I become an administrator or are viewed as a leader, as I aim to some day become, I hope that I can inspire teachers to become transformational and change the lives of the students in the building.

Fellow Teachers

2012-05-13T10:50:00.002-05:00

Sometimes it is so hard to enter the front doors of a school building because of all of the changes taking place in education and more specifically in Tennessee right now. However, one thing positive change that has occurred in our school building in the past year is that the teachers have started supporting one another.

In most literature you read about teaching, it talks about how teaching can be a very isolated profession. I wish I could say that it wasn't, but at times it is. However, it doesn't have to be.

Teachers need to support one another, challenge one another, and inspire one another. Fellow teachers are the only ones who understand how difficult it is to stand in front of a class of thirty while your mind is dealing with human emotions and concerns. Fellow teachers are the only ones who understand how taxing teaching can be on your joints and vocals. Fellow teachers are the only ones who understand all the demands that are being placed on all educators. Fellow teachers are the only ones who understand how much you will sleep during the first week of summer because of all of the hard work you have put in over the past ten months.

So next time you find yourself frustrated when you enter the building of your school because you are being asked to return a phone call to a distraught parent, comfort a child who is dealing with more than most adults can comprehend or your administrator is adding one more thing to your plate, turn to your fellow teachers who will understand every ounce of what you are dealing with...and hang in there! Things will get better.

Reminscing

2012-02-16T19:30:00.000-06:00

Sometimes as I look at across my class, I find myself yearning to relive my first few years in the classroom. Today I was wondering why that happens. Is it because I feel bad for the students I taught all those years ago because they were stuck with such an inexperienced teacher? Or maybe it is because I miss the camaraderie of the teachers I taught with at LaVergne? Or better yet, I wonder if I miss all of the late nights spent at school because I was busy being a soccer coach then too? Either way, lately I have missed my first few years in the classroom immensely.

As teachers prepare to retire at my current school in the next few years, I wonder if I will continue teaching for the next twenty years. Don't get me wrong, I love teaching. It just seems like there is so much negativity at times; how can one live their life surrounded by it. I hope those that are retiring realize that not only their students will remember them, but the other teachers they have encouraged and tutored will miss and remember them as well.

To all the educators that have gone before me- thank you! Thank you for inspiring me to become a teacher. Thank you for pushing me through my education, even when I didn't want to go after loosing my mom. Thank you for the experience you have passed along to me through our many brief hallway conversations. And thank you for deciding to become a teacher. The world of education would not be the same without the imprint you have left on the thousands of students, the parents you have encountered and the other teacher, just like me, that you have touched.

To Make a Difference

2012-01-08T10:58:00.000-06:00

In the teaching profession there are a handful of teachers that did not arrive at teaching simply because of the hours (trust me, they aren't what you think), or the retirement (that's not enough to live on), or the summer vacations (that's when professional development normally happens). A handful of teachers actually became an educator because they want to make a difference in the world. At first the difference that wanted to be made was to affect the life of a child...and sometimes that desire grows into more than just one child or a handful of children.

Lately, several teacher friends and I have found ourselves contemplating if teaching is allowing us to make the difference in the world that we set out to make. One such friend has decided she wants to look at the nursing field, while others are roaming lost trying to find that purpose in life. It makes teaching sometimes difficult to watch peers struggle with their purpose.

When did the world become so caught up in lobbyist, politics, and reform that it has forgotten about what is important. Each student has a genuinely different calling in life that standards aren't allowing teachers to groom.

This past week while talking to a parent I found myself frustrated. Teaching seventh grade English many students come to my class and can't identify a noun, verb, etc. in a sentence. As far as seventh grade English goes, my standards do not really cover that skill; instead I have to teach them how a noun functions in a sentence, how a verb acts in a sentence, or whether a prepositional phrase is acting like and adjective or adverb. So I spend most of the first semester reviewing concepts that are included in standards from third grade to sixth grade. Although I sometimes become frustrated, I know I must do this in order for students to grasp the application of the English skills I must teach them before they become eighth graders. However, as a teacher it is hard to explain to a parent that the student hasn't even learned half of what they will learn in my classroom and the year is over halfway over. Needless to say I sometimes feel defeated or question whether I am doing what is right for the student. Especially when parents call me a "hard teacher".

This past Friday I was talking to the math teacher on my team about the observation standards. This year in Tennessee teacher observations have changed, and although the majority of the process is a positive change, there are negatives to the areas teachers are judged. For example, a teacher is deemed successful by how many outside school events they attend. They are also gauged successful by how well students respect one another in their classroom, even if a teacher has no control over how much respect a parent shows others or how much interaction they have with the student to encourage respect. Frustrated by the changes, many teachers are wanting to leave the profession, forgetting why they became an educator.

Education is not about the standards. It is not about the summer vacations. Nor is it about successful an outsider feels a teacher is. Instead it is about making a difference in the lives of as many students as a teacher can during the ten months of students' lives that they fill the seats in your classroom. No matter how many changes or challenges a teacher is presented with, look in the eyes of a student or find a moment of success in a student's life and be reminded why you started teaching in the first place.

Positivity

2011-11-26T09:26:00.001-06:00

With all of the drama going on in the field of education currently, a professor recently reminded me that all of the drama cannot be changed, but what can be altered is our attitude. So the next time you feel like complaining, try "lacing up your boots, and getting to work" because it is the children we are fighting for. Such a helpful reminder during this time of change. Thanks, Dr. Roberts!

Observations

2011-10-13T10:02:00.000-05:00

As many educators in Tennessee are aware, the new observation method- TAP- has caused many to question their professional decisions. Yesterday I read an article in which legislatures are reconsidering the benefit the new observation model has on schools. Although observations need to occur, the time a teacher has throughout the day to be a human adds to the stress the model is creating.

Recently I found myself recalling my student teaching experience in New Zealand in which the teachers received an hour and a half of unstructured adult time. Thirty minutes in the morning are set aside for the teachers to socialize together during morning tea, while an hour is given for lunch. Oh, how I long for the socialization and non-structured time.

Of course the observation model has areas that need to be addressed. For example, not every administrator is addressing the "unannounced" observations the same. Some teachers are told when the observations will take place, while others are completely shocked when others enter their room. Another thing that I do not think is taken into consideration is the extra responsibilities teachers are asked to take on. Although I have gotten better at telling an administrator "no" when asked to take on something, there are still times when I say "I don't think so" and somehow I am still wrangled in to doing it. Often times that means my classes are interrupted by communication from the office, people coming in my classroom, and expectations or deadlines that have to be met and yet my planning period is not long enough to meet them.

Don't misunderstand me- I enjoy the idea of administrators being in my room more often; personally, they aren't in my room enough. However, I think there are other things in the American educational systems that need to be looked at first in order to retain good and even great teachers.

Values

2011-06-26T09:53:00.001-05:00

In class yesterday we began discussing educational values. We went from talking about the individual concepts that we, as individuals, desire in education to the overarching themes instilled within the souls of students enrolled in teacher courses at local universities. It really made me think. Have all of the teacher education courses I've endured valued the same thing in education?

Overall, the three universities I have attended, although very different, have held one core value. They have shown future educators and administrators to not loose sight of the most important thing in education- the students. If they were trying to instill within me a different value, it may not have stuck due to my real life experiences. Whether they were nihilist, theist, or any other belief, it rarely affected me in my education.

Unfortunately, there are only a few classes that have any sort of lasting affect on me during my education coursework. These classes are the ones that dealt with diversity, a concept I see negated all too often in our public schools. I have also been inspired by the fellow students in my classes. I'm in awe of the variety of people I encounter, and yet, we all agree that education needs to be altered.

No matter what the concepts are that I value in education, I will always place the students in the center of my actions.

Tech Savvy

2011-06-14T18:00:00.000-05:00

Today I attended and presented at a technology conference in Sumner County. Having been to several technology conferences before, I was pretty confident in what I had signed myself up for, but I was uncertain how my portion of the day would be attended. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. I was also amazed how well the forty something adults in the classroom behaved while I stumbled through the free classroom technology I wanted to share with them. If you are interested in the programs I presented today, here they are:

Sorting Hat- offered by brother
PortaPortal- www.portaportal.com
Classjump- www.classjump.com
Cool Timer
and...Emailing Weekly Newsletters

Thanks to those of you who came out today!

Stress Level of Educators

2011-06-10T08:03:00.001-05:00

No matter what your connection is with a school, as changes continue to take place, stress levels continue to rise in an already stressful career field. Change is something I actually enjoy in life; however, many teachers went into the teaching profession for opposite reasons- they wanted to work at one school for thirty years, raise their children in that community, and then retire. In my short teaching career I have taught in four different schools in four different counties, with my longest tenure only two years. I have even taught in New Zealand as well as the United States. Please don't hear me wrong, I haven't looked for change, but with a husband that was active in the Army, it is something that was and still is inevitable in my life.

Sometimes I wonder if policymakers understand how stressful it is to teachers when every five years they are creating overhauling changes. Wouldn't admendments or gradual changes be better for both the educators, students they teach, parents who are trying to advocate for their children, and the families of educators?

Professional Development

2011-06-09T15:33:00.001-05:00

This fall the way things are done on the state level, in regards to professional development, will be changing. Not knowing how it will be changing, I'm unsure how I will complete my professional development hours this summer. I wish they took my graduate level coursework as professional development hours like Georgia does, then my school year wouldn't be so stressful.

If I find out what is changing, I'll let you know, as soon as I know something! ;)

Summertime

2011-06-09T15:29:00.001-05:00

It is finally that time of year that most teachers look forward to- summer! Normally I look forward to the empty scheduled days as well; however, something is different this summer and I think I finally figured out what it is.

Without knowing all of the changes that are ahead for teachers in Tennessee, in regards to the First to the Top and observation changes, and especially in the county where I work, where we are getting a new superintendent and head of instruction, this summer I feel as though I'm sitting on the back of my heals waiting for all the changes. Normally, people would enjoy the down time, but that is not who I am. I am a go-getter that is constantly moving and doing, so this down time is killing me. I guess on the bright side of things I have at least had a chance to catch up with my ancestry research!

Brain Hiatus

2011-04-01T17:29:00.000-05:00

I apologize for taking such a long break since my last post; however, I recently went back to school. Now that I am adjusted to all of the written requirements, I'M BACK!

Since we recently had Spring Break, I thought I would voice my observations about breaks away from school. Last year the district that I work in, gave us two weeks for Spring Break. Although I found it extremely relaxing, more so than the normal one week break, I was rather frustrated when people would say, "Why do teachers need so much time away from work?" I have one response- my brain.

Working with middle schoolers, or students of any age, requires me to be on my toes mentally for eight hours every day. I am engaged in a conversation all day long. Once the day is over, I am then forced to mentally evaluate all of the work the students turned in, or the challenging assignments I want to develop. My brain never sleeps.

For only one week away from school this year for spring break, I found I either slept or was lethargic the first few days of the break. To truly rejuvenate, I find I need time to engage in adult hobbies, such as photography, working out, or finding a home project to busy myself. Oh well, maybe I will return to my hobbies over the summer, when my brain isn't so busy!

The Art of Studying

2010-12-07T17:42:00.000-06:00

Many students struggle, along with transitioning between high school and college, with the art of studying. In many elementary and middle school classrooms students take notes from an overhead or PowerPoint and then are assessed over the material covered in a given, and relatively short, time period. In reality to best prepare students for real life, they need to learn the art of studying, or retaining large amounts of information over a longer period of time, at a much younger age in order to be successful on the ACT, SAT, in college, and in their chosen career field. A debate that many educators find themselves involved with over this topic, is what kind of student we should produce at the primary education level- happy students with friends and limited knowledge, or a student that may be socially challenged, but extremely educated. As a parent it is inevitably up to you what type of morals and expectations you instill within your child.

If you desire a child that is extremely successful career-wise, it would be smart to help your child develop appropriate study habits at an early age. By doing so, you will need to also find techniques that work best for your child. Helping your child now will amount to greater success in the classroom, which could also lead to more money in your pocket, as the Tennessee Hope Scholarship Program becomes more competitive in the coming years, limiting the number of students that can benefit from it. Georgia's seniors can attest to the side effects of providing a free education to incoming B average college students and the extremely competitiveness that it created now that the lottery has been in Georgia for nearly seventeen years.

To tackle the art of studying with your child, you will need to understand the nature of the subjects the students are taking. Studying math and English takes a much deeper understanding of the concepts being taught, than say social studies or science. When studying social studies and science, students can read and reread information to retain what they need to learn. If concepts are challenging, some students might benefit from creating practice quizzes/tests on the computer at sights such as quia.com, or making notecards to aid their memorization. Unfortunately, math and English are much more difficult to truly understand. Both of these classes require that students learn the material, and then be able to apply what they know. It is one thing to know what a variable is in math, but a student today must know how to solve for a variable to excel on an assessment.

In Tennessee it appears that the TCAP (Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program) test will be moving towards CRA (Constructed Response Assessment) testing, so that our state can become more competitive with states such as Massachusetts in the quality of the students we are producing. In doing so, students will no longer be able to choose a letter as an answer. CRA testing, which is still a few years away from implementation in Tennessee, will require students to solve the answer using complete sentences, and show all work required to find the answers. If students struggle at mastering the basic concepts of mathematics for example, they will also struggle at showing their work on tests such as these.

This article is not meant to scare you, but it will hopefully bring insight into how the education of a child is truly the combined efforts of the teacher (teaching the concepts), the student (learning the concepts), and the parents (reinforcing the concepts) in the state of Tennessee.

Then vs. Now

2010-11-30T19:58:00.001-06:00

In the 1980s teachers were never sensitive to the fact that there were students in their classrooms that did not believe in certain holidays. In a school of around six hundred students only one or two students might be sent to the office to help, while the rest of the school enjoyed singing Christmas songs in their central gathering place. Unfortunately with the economy the way it is currently teachers are having to not only be aware of students that do not celebrate holidays, but they are also reminded that their students may not enjoy the holidays because they will not be receiving anything this year. It is sad to note this, but many teachers are faced with whether or not to share their joy for this time of the year with their students. Is it right to act like a hum-bug because students may not share in your joy? There are a lot of students that don't care for my Auburn football team, but that doesn't stop me from wearing the team jersey I own, or singing their praises. I don't do this because I live, eat, and breath Auburn football, but I do this because I know in my heart that it might actually entice a student to go on to college if they see the love I have for my alma mater.

As a Christian, who knows that it is wrong to indoctrinate students while at school, I feel like I should be encouraged to share my joy for this time of year with the students, but unfortunately something is holding me back. When will sharing diversity with our students once again be okay?

Third or First Person

2010-11-30T19:48:00.001-06:00

As I sat reflecting on the writing that my students turned in a few weeks ago, I found myself wondering if I should blog in first or third person. It may sound like a trivial decision, but I must admit after reading my students' writings, I felt as though I was reading totally different classes assignments. Okay, you are probably thinking at this point that I'm just that good of a writing instructor, when in reality I know that third person musings actually sound more factually based than the opinion pieces you and I are use to reading. So from now on, you may see only second and third person pronouns used in my casting of educational topics (unless I have something way to interesting to strain my brain trying to convert to the latter point of views).

Motivation from Other Educators

2010-11-20T08:41:00.000-06:00

One of the things that I find most motivational since beginning my teaching career is the ability to brainstorm and discuss ideas with other educators. Some people don't enjoy talking to others about issues in their classroom, but I really find the saying "it takes a village to raise a child" by heart, and therefore think it is important to bounce ideas off other people.

This week I had an interview for an Ed.D. program at Union University. While waiting for my interview to begin many of the other interviewees were complaining about how nervous they were. Maybe I was less nervous because I have interviewed SEVERAL times being that I have taught in four schools in seven years because my husband is in the military, or maybe it was because I find talking to other educators (no matter what level they teach) inspirational.

When my husband was reassigned to Ft. Benning, Georgia, I sent my application in to Muscogee County Schools, and even though they had a new school opening, they had no new positions in the county. How absurd I thought to myself. So during a visit over spring break, I set up a meeting with the only principal that would meet with me so that we could talk about educational issues facing the county. We talked for two hours. Dr. Shouppe was very upfront, honest, and conversational about issues that he saw in educating students in Columbus. Since that moment in 2007, Dr. Shouppe has been someone I have been able to call to discuss issues I see in my current place of employment or to even bounce off disertation ideas.

During my interview this week, I was reminded of how much I gain from speaking with and bouncing ideas off other educators. Hopefully in the near future I will find myself doing this even more.

Rubrics or Rubbish?

2010-11-16T17:49:00.001-06:00

Over this past summer I found myself pondering the effectiveness of rubrics. No matter how often I use one, or how I introduce it, I feel as though I have wasted my time creating it, except when it comes to the students that are "type A" like myself. The majority of my students, once I have handed the rubric out, don't seem to be able to hang on to it long enough to make it out of my classroom with it still in their hands.

This year I have become more frustrated, because it seems as though the most effective mode of communicating to parents assignments that are given out in class is through personally emailing them the assignments each week. Don't get me wrong, I definitely don't mind doing this, but when does getting assignments done correctly and on time fall back on the student (ie. using their agenda to write down due dates, or checking a website for upcoming dates or assignments).

While pondering the use of rubrics in my classroom, I began questioning a bigger issue in my classroom- what kind of student do I want to produce after spending a year with them? I don't know about you, but the last time I thought about my life as an old meagor image of myself, I wanted to know that I could rely on a self-sufficient, responsible, caring individual- not someone I would have to email from my smartphone to tell them it was time for them to bring me my meds! Just a thought!

What is Greatness?

2010-11-15T17:40:00.001-06:00

In the teaching field there are so many things that equate to a "great" teacher, but I feel like those things are being overlooked due to the changes that are constantly going on in our field and the increased expectations being placed on teachers. Please don't get me wrong, or think I am a "negative Nancy" that doesn't enjoy change. In fact, I absolutely love change, besides I would have to since my husband is in the military and we have moved twice in the past year.

Last week as I was singing at the funeral of one of the most incredible teachers I have ever experienced, both in the classroom and out, I found myself questioning my own teaching abilities. One of the most touching parts to the celebration of the life of Ms. Sarah Bayrd, was when they played one of her famous lessons over a loud speaker. Of course it was chilling that Ms. Bayrd's voice was being played at her own funeral, but it made me question what I would leave for future generations to remember about my teaching. Sure English is not as exciting as a tub of spam, and no I'm not referring to junk emails, but I'm sure there is something I could instill within my students.

No matter what the expectations are placed on me as a teacher- whether it is from the administration, parents, myself or even the state- I hope that I will never forget the impact Ms. Sarah Bayrd had on my life as not only a person, but as a teacher. She taught me what it means to truly inspire students beyond what they realize they can accomplish; she was always at every sporting event, even if she had a stack of papers beside her; but most of all she taught me to enjoy my personal life while also being the best teacher I can be. You will be missed Ms. Bayrd- thank you for being my teacher.