Are we really expected to do everything?

I don't know if I've written a blog on this topic before, but I was having a discussion about test scores with 2 other teachers today and it led to how much responsibility we really have.

As teachers, we are expected to do a lot: teach academics, be mothers, be the all-great problem solvers, teach social skills, and develop background information that our kids just don't know and should about life.

One example I have from my own teaching experience is when we were reading a context clues passage. As a class, we were trying to determine the meaning of a word and in order to answer, the students should have known some common etiquette. They needed to know that when you leave some one's house after they had you over for dinner, regardless of how terrible the food might have been, you don't tell the host. They had no idea what to say. They didn't know they should be polite even though they didn't enjoy it. We had to rehearse what it might sound like thanking the host for a bad dinner. "Thanks for having me over and cooking dinner."

How are my kiddos supposed to use their context clues to understand words when they don't even know what the context clues are telling them? I am seeing this a lot in their Book Clubs as well. They are very fluent readers, but don't understand what the book is saying because the ideas are foreign to them. They don't know what it's like to fly on a plane or play in the snow. Their life experiences are more limited than other children their age because of their socioeconomic statuses, and that is very difficult to teach. I can talk about my experiences and tell them what it is like all year long, but it doesn't mean the same thing unless they've done it themselves.

Now, don't get me wrong...I try time and time again to explain what certain things feel like. They are curious! I tell them about what it felt like to stand at the top of a mountain and not be able to see anything around me because I was inside the clouds. I tell them what it is like to live in a country that doesn't even have running water and how I couldn't shower all summer. One thing I feel I can do is teach them social cues. I can teach them how they should respond to people when they say particular things or use particular tones. I can teach them how to be a friend and what it really means. And I can be a role model. I can show them what being an adult means and the responsibility it comes with. I can show them how an adult should behave.

And along with all of this, I have to teach them that the moon affects tides and a bunch of other nonsense that you can use the Internet to look up when you're older, if it even matters that you know it then.

Why did I become a teacher??? Oh, I remember every day when I go pick my kids up from the gym and they are so excited to see me. I remember when they write messages on the chalkboard when I'm absent for a day. I remember when they come to my desk just to give me a hug. I remember when even if I've made them cry the day before, they hug me the next day on their way in the door. I remember when they write in their journals about how they want to become a 4th grade teacher just like me. I never forget the reasons I became a teacher.

Caution: Brain at Work!

Today I witnessed the most amazing thing of my teaching career...

The class was working, but Victor finished early. My teacher's aid began writing down some multiplication problems for him to work to occupy his time wisely. He laughed at the problems she wrote down and said, "Too easy!" He then wrote down problems and began working those instead. But...the normal child (and myself) would need to write down the problem, show work for each column, add up my products, and add them for the answer. Well, you should know by now that Victor is not like my other students.
This is what I observed: Victor was standing, throwing a pencil around in the air. I occasionally heard him say a number, but could hear mumbling the entire time. All of a sudden, he would loudly say the answer and then write it down. He is able to work multiplication problems in his head and produce the correct answer. This amazed me. It was almost like Rain Man. Seemingly distracted, not focusing on the problem, he visualized the numbers in his head and was able to work it out. His only problem is writing the answer by the correct problem.

I have no idea what I'm going to do when I have to teach the rest of the class multiplication. Can he teach it for me?

THIS JUST IN...My Classroom is Complete!

I went to my classroom today to complete some last minute ideas. Of course, I'll always find something else I need to do, but for right now, I'm happy. I know that I didn't need to do everything in order for the kids to successfully learn, but things need to be interesting, inviting, and fun in order for kids to WANT to be at school and interested in learning. (Of course this does not apply for all kids, but it sure speeds up the excited feelings they'll have when they see my room.) P.S. - I made my own curtains...which I'm very proud of. You all can make your own too with some $1/yd fabric and iron on hem.

Below: A wide angle shot of the room. The class library is off to the right, my desk to the left. I figured out last year that I wanted my desk in front of the kids. While they are working independently and I'm working on something else, my presence behind them was like I was not in the room. In order to prevent a reoccurrence, I've changed my strategy. I think the spaces are well divided and the kids will be able to move easily throughout the classroom. There are different working spaces in the classroom that can be utilized at any time.

Below: Across the top of the board are our school's Life Skills (such as caring, patience, cooperation, respect, trustworthiness, etc.) My carpet area will be in front of the board so we can use the easel. Below the white board are Texas History documents and state information.
Below: My desk! I like a space to call my own...considering that some days I spend over 10 hours in this room. That is my ME bulletin board...I add to it throughout the year. The kids love seeing what I've been up to besides asking them to stop talking. By the time they are in 4th grade, they know teachers don't live in the school and want to see proof. The day my mom visited last year was equivalent to my meeting with John Mayer in excitement!
Below: Boxes and boxes of manipulatives. Unfortunately in portables, there isn't very much storage space...and my OCD didn't allow me anything less than nicely organized and labeled tubs. This is just going to make my life easier when I'm looking for something.

Below: Classroom Library - Fiction books are organized by author or genre (unless I don't really have enough to put in a tub...see library rack). Nonfiction books are sitting on top of shelves by category. Ideally I would have room for another shelf for only nonfiction books...ideally! The short table is for working and reward. FYI: I got many of my books after "bribing" my class with a reward if they brought in books. It worked like magic...in days I had an entire library.

Below: Information for my students (lunch count, calendar, newsletter, rewards), the Light Bulb Lab (for enrichment), and reading bulletin board. The Light Bulb Lab is where students can go when they've finished their work. There are mini research projects that can be done independently and other individual learning activities. To the left of this table is the Wonder Wall. Students can write their questions on card and clothespin them on the board. They can research the answers at a later time and the answers will be hung up as well.

Below: Science Process and supply shelf. If they don't have it in their desks, it can be found on this shelf. The pocket chart to the right is for stations.

Below: Small group/guided reading table...I don't think I need to give any more explanation.

It's a relief to know that children (and their parents) could walk into my room at any moment and I would be prepared. Unfortunately, those feelings might change at 7:45 on August 26th...we'll see.

If you are a new teacher or any teacher who is setting up a classroom of their own, I wish you luck. I don't call myself an expert in classroom design by any means, but I am pretty good at it. I've offered my advice to many friends and of course, learn as I go. If something doesn't work, I change it. No need to suffer with it for an entire year.

INSPIRATION

If you want some inspirational summer reading, check out these books. They are absolutely fabulous and will be a re-read on my summer list. They offer humor, insight, and advice all at once. I hope to one day write a books that can offer so much to young teachers just like these did for me.
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During student teaching, I had a professor recommend that we all read this book. It looks at the humorous side of teaching and accepting all of the crazy things that you think would NEVER happen to you. I have since recommended it to everyone I know because it's an easy read that allows you to laugh at the author and also yourself when you realize you've done similar things. This book is actually what inspired me to write a blog chronicling my teaching experiences day-by-day. I one day wish to write a similar book and will plenty of stories to choose from the best of the best.
If you have been teaching one year or thirty, I suggest reading this book and in order to help you understand not to take things so seriously and learn from your mistakes.
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This was another book recommended to me by a friend during student teaching. At the time I read this, I related to it a bit, but didn't truly understand what an inspiring man Rafe Esquith is. Now that I've taught 4th grade in a school Rafe would call "The Jungle", I am taking the opportunity to re-read this amazing book. Rafe talks about how much of his life he dedicates to his students because he is what they have. Some of their families barely survive and school is their escape from the harsh realities they face in their neighborhoods. Now that my current teaching position so closely relates to where Rafe worked, I try to think of how he would handle a situation and not to sound cliche, but, "What would Rafe do?" He's done amazing things for many years with a very diverse group of kids who live very rough lives. In my lifetime, I only wish to do similar great things in my neighborhood.
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This is a follow up to Rafe's amazing first book. This book also offers inspiration through Rafe's experiences. He teaches because he cares. He wasn't always supported in his teaching ventures, but I see him as a leader in education. Yes, there are many people who are considered leaders because they shape the way education is, but this man is a leader because he is doing what I am. He's been there and done most things. He makes mistakes, but learns from them for the next time. He "rescues" children from lives of disappointment and failure and gives them an oasis in which to learn and grow, as students and people. Again, I only hope to do the same for my students in the coming years.