Have I got a story for you!

I have a story. I may be biased, but I think it's a good one. It will probably be a little long for your liking, but at very least it has a happy ending. So if you're into that sort of thing and/or I've peaked your curiosity, read on...

Last Spring, as I was wrapping up my Educational Leadership & Policy credential/M.A., I sent out over 30 applications for various school and/or special education administrative positions. I had 8 interviews, was a finalist twice, and went 2 for 2 on job offers for teaching positions I interviewed for. One of which I took, in Marin County. Exhausting, but not too shabby!

One of those opportunities held particular weight and importance to me. The job was a newly created Program Specialist position. For those of you who have no clue what that is, and rightly so unless you're in my field, it's basically the administrator/s working directly under the Director of Special Education within a school district. These slots do NOT open up very frequently, particularly not in excellent districts like this one. I thought it was a long shot, being a rookie and out of district candidate, but I sent in my application/resume with great enthusiasm and with absolutely nothing to lose. 

To my surprise and delight I was called for an initial interview, so I pulled out my old, trusty J. Crew pant suit and went for the first round interview. It was a high pressure, intense process with 10 or so scenarios requiring on-the-spot responses in front of 9 panelists(a big fear for me!), but somehow I survived AND ended up as one of two finalists for the position. In fact, post-interview I felt even more confident that I was more than prepared/equipped do this job well, and hoped so much that it would end up being mine. 

I wrote this in my iPhone notes after the interview:

The next step was a Skype interview, which I'd previously never done. So, true to OCD form, I tested out camera positioning and location as well as Skype interview outfits with my BFF (A2) for about an hour the night before, said my prayers and went to sleep ready to present the best of myself (and hoping that would translate via Internet). 

Trial run of my outfit yielded the the calm, collected, makeup-less picture you see below:

Here are a few shots I took of myself to see how I looked as I waited for their call to come in. Yes, I'm a huge dork, however please notice how precisely I kept the camera setup from the night before ;)

 Trying to get rid of nerves. Looking like a blowfish.

I went with Dr. Pepper chap stick in the end. Ole faithful since 4th grade.

Without going into all the details, the final interview went REALLY well. So well that I felt 100% convinced, more than I've been of almost anything in my life, that the job was mine. I had no doubt...

However, the phone call I received was NOT what I was expecting. The Director of Special Education and Superintendent were both incredibly complimentary and gracious in my rejection. I asked what I could have done differently and they said, "nothing". That made me feel good, confused and frustrated all at the same time. They said it was an agonizing decision between myself and the other candidate, and in the end they had to choose one of us. 

They did however ask that I apply for a Vice Principal position that was going to post in a few weeks. I did, because I believed in the district/their admin team and wanted to be a part of it, but my heart wasn't fully in it and, although I was interviewed out of 90+ applicants, I didn't get that position either. Rejection x 2 stings, but I was determined to keep my chin up, shoulders square and move forward. God has always been faithful in my life and I trust in his timing. When a door closes, it's sometimes the BEST thing even though it feels like the worst. Some of you may have seen this typical Ashley selfie/motivational post on Facebook and now that motivation may be more clear.

Flash forward 7 months, almost exactly...I moved my life from Sacramento to take a teaching job in Marin which brings me now within 20 minutes to the love of my life, AJ,which is such an amazing blessing.

Then, I got a phone call that changes (almost) everything.

The phone call was from the Director of Special Education from the district I mentioned previously. You know, the one where MY dream job was located?? Well, it turns out that (for reasons I won't get into) the person they selected moved back to Southern California leaving the position open, again. And it was mine if I wanted it!! I won't take up anymore space with details of my decision making process (but if you know me, you know I thought of EVERYTHING) or how within a week I accepted the job ON MY 30th BIRTHDAY (how's THAT for a present?!),was released with recommendation/blessing/graciousness from my current district, signed a contract for the job of my DREAMS as a Program Specialist with my new district, and made arrangements to move to the Peninsula mid November!!!

It has been a whirlwind and there are some tricky pieces to the puzzle, but through it all I feel a definite sense of peace that God is leading me in HIS timing to exactly where He wants me to be. 

That makes me incredibly excited for what is to come. May the work I do and life I live in this world point to God's goodness and faithfulness.

I also must mention that I have the undying support of my amazing boyfriend, who means everything to me. His influence on me to be POSITIVE and believe in myself has made all the difference and I am so thankful and blessed by who he is.

I'll wrap this up by reiterating my post from Facebook from a couple days ago, which at the time very few people knew what I was rambling on about:

"God's timing is better. In big and small ways I've been denied things I thought I needed/wanted and, of course, within the time frame I designed for my own life. Yet, one of the most awesome and humbling experiences is to look back and see the ways I NEEDED to be changed and grow in order to receive those very blessing with the grace, gratitude, openness, humility and preparedness worthy of such gifts. When it seems like things are being withheld or denied, I believe that is often the very mechanism God uses to grow patience, resilience, perseverance, work ethic and countless numbers of LASTING traits in us that are worth far more than immediate gratification or any tangible. THEN, when the blessing comes our way, we can more clearly understand that that's what it is...Perhaps a well deserved one, but a BLESSING. Thankful life works this way. God is good and life is truly BEAUTIFUL."

So, that's my story. 

I hope that it not only informs you of my crazy life, but maybe even in the smallest of ways inspires you to keeping chasing after your dreams, believing in yourself and the plan for your life, and fighting discouragement when that path is unclear or not going the way you planned. Love yourself and others well, be happy, give of yourself, work hard at whatever is in front of you, and good things will come your way!

Orange Juice Taste Test

Today my Algebra Readiness Support classes were introduced to ratios thanks to chart paper, Trader Joe's Orange Juice from concentrate, Styrofoam cups and Post Its. We (or at least I) had fun applying the new concept to something concrete and tangible. The following is a pictorial run through of the lesson:

S.W.B.A.T.

Students will be able to... 

Identify ratios and write them 3 ways.

CA Standard MG1.1, MG1.3

3 ways to write and the concept of 

"part to part" vs. "part to whole" ratios

Evidence of the class starting to familiarize themselves 

with the concept.

(a little oops on the 5 7:12, but self-corrected!)

Gratuitous "real world" example of ratio use 

I am all too familiar with.

Now to test out three different samples of OJ from concentrate. 

Which mixture matches which ratio of concentrate to water and why?

Each pair of students received one of each mixture A, B and C...

As well as a worksheet to describe the taste, look and prediction of the ratio of each mixture. Each student used a post it with their name on it to mark their prediction on...

this whole class chart paper. I provided the three potential ratios on concentrate to water as a scaffold. After tasting and discussing with a partner, then sharing their observations/predictions out with the class ("too sour/sweet," "really watery," "thick and bubbly"[??] "delicious!""YUCK",etc...)the resulting chart looked like:

Which was almost an almost 100% correct class response! I allowed students to change their answers as they tasted/observed, so initially answers were not all correct. 1:5 was far too watery, 2:2 was far too strong, and 1:3 was just right, said Goldilocks... jk

After this introduction activity, my students worked on a ratios worksheet and graphic organizer(helping to further distinguish between part to part and part to whole ratios) and sipped on the 1:3 ratio OJ, as requested : )

Makin' It Rain

If you remember my last post,  http://reachingthe10percent.blogspot.com/2012/11/work-it-out_14.html , the delivery process for this lesson was essentially the same but with a different topic [dividing fractions] and different instrumental [ Make It Rain ]

Foldable Lyrics

This rap would work with a variety of beats. It's easy to memorize and my students were saying dividing fractions seemed "easy" by the end of the class period. I'm again hoping that memorizing lyrics instead of formulas will increase learning retention.

Accompanying class notes and examples.

I had them write down the You Tube link and told them to go home and "study" by rehearsing the rap before completing their homework assignment tonight. If only my own version of studying (completing my M.A. thesis before the May 10th deadline, yikes.) were as enjoyable...

Anyway, just another day in the life of a superstar rap artist: keeping myself and my audience entertained.

Word to your mother.

Work It Out

There are some days I'm completely boring as an educator, however today wasn't one of them. Today I took the liberty of aligning myself with the great rap artists of our time and tried my hand at "flowing". I did so to the best of my ability, but without a gold grill, iced out chains or any other paraphernalia that might make me seem more legit. Yes, be impressed/horrified. 

This masochism  was my somewhat manipulative attempt at engaging my students and forcing them to commit to memory the steps for solving 1 and 2 step variable equations. The human brain stores lyrics and music in long term memory differently than other learning. I'm no brain surgeon [little known fact], but I do know that I personally remember thousands of song lyrics from the age of 3 to now, yet if you asked me about all that high school AP History/Bio/English stuff I read/studied so much or [let's be honest] even the plot of a movie I watched a couple weeks years ago, I would come up close to blank. So, the goal of this activity was for them to have fun while learning and retaining an important concept they'll need to be successful in Algebra 1.

Luckily, they were into it.

STEP 1: Cue "Walk It Out"-Instrumental Version a la YouTube.If you are familiar with this rap's beat and chorus, you will know that this is literally an ingenious remix of the original. Well, maybe not ingenious, but "Walk it Out" does lend itself beautifully to my new chorus "Work it Out" (as in solve an equation). Thanks Unk!

STEP 2: Distribute "Work It Out" lyric sheets to students. This  was later filled in with lots of explanation and examples. Note-taking trickery at it's finest.

STEP 3: Show Powerpoint slides and rap my little heart out [read: embarrass the crap out of myself]. The PPT features the following slide shown during each repetition of the chorus:

STEP 4: Repeat, repeat, repeat with students. In case it was even a question, my students definitely did a MUCH better job than I did. 

The plan is to perform in class on Friday with individuals doing the verses, and then the whole class jumping in to repeat the "work it out, work it out, work it out, work it out" chorus and of course, get crazy dancing. I told them that if their performance is good enough,and if everyone gets at least 85% on the test Friday, then I'll put up these rappin' mathematicians' video on You Tube. If they can work out how to "Work it Out" well enough between today and friday,I've got some work to do. 

Oh and also, please refer to my from this point forward as "A-Latz". I think that'll build up my street cred before my 2013 performance.

What's Your Superpower?

          I adore the blessed life I have, and I love my job. It may have take 5 years, but I’ve hit my stride and I’m having a BLAST teaching this year. I chose to go back to teaching math (Algebra Readiness) after a 3-year hiatus. While I enjoy English Language Arts better as a learner, I think I am a much better teacher of Math. I think this is because ELA came naturally to me as a student, and math has been a historically BIG struggle. It’s harder to see where others may struggle when something seems/comes so easy. I was the kiddo with tears rolling down my cheeks during math tests (yes, in high school even…) because I was so frustrated by numbers and formulas. I didn’t get it, and I thought it would never “click”... but it did eventually and I want to share the hope that there is a beyond the frustration with these guys and encourage them to keep trying when they can't feel that hope. I’ve studied and learned when, where and how to break concepts down to the basic level and scaffold back up again. I feel confident in my abilities. I absolutely love seeing the light bulbs go on; it makes my heart happy when their confidence increases and they feel good about their accomplishments as students of math and in general. 

Below are a couple pictorial collages of some of the work my students are doing with a decimal unit:

                           Rounding Decimals: Notes and reminder rhyme

                        
                      Adding Decimals: Lesson Plan/Supporting Activities

Another great thing about 2012-2013 is that I looped with my students, so I get to enjoy teaching the same entertaining bunch I had as 7^th graders for their 8^th grade year. They have matured a teeny, tiny bit over summer, already know my OCD classroom routines and most importantly that I care about them before the curriculum; “students will not care how much you know until they know how much you care”. Nothing to prove there to start the year off, leaving me with little-interrupted time to get these guys ready to pass Algebra 1 in high school.  That’s no easy task. Every 85-minute period is JAM PACKED. We move from agenda item to agenda item every 5-15 minutes to keep them engaged and on their toes. I need a nap after every period. It’s exhausting, yet fun and exciting work. The best part is that my students seem to be on board to learn a lot this year. Case in point…below is an excerpt from an email I received from a parent of one of my new caseload students,who struggled through 7^th grade, which made me smile:

“Thanks so much Ms. Latimer, I was going to email you and ask about his progress as he had to attend the 2nd chance meeting and he was very hard on himself after that meeting, even though I tried to tell him it was NOT completely his fault [student qualified for Special Education services at the end of the school year]. Since he has started this year, he told me that you are able to help him become a better student and as a mother, it really made me HAPPY.”

:)

Inspiration/Procrastination

In attempts to fully recover from a flu that's had me laid out for 72 hours and counting, I took the day off work. But, stress ball that I am, I'm sitting at a Peet's coffee shop hammering out as much of the NINE IEPs I have scheduled for this month as I can so that I don't get behind. Well, at least that is what I'm supposed to be doing. Clearly, I've taken a detour. I blame Pinterest. In case you have been living under a rock (or just use your time more wisely than I do) Pinterest is a time-sucking, reminder of all the things I could ever possibly want but not afford, yet absolutely impossible to tear myself away from site. Occasionally though, I do draw inspiration and not just feed my covetous, consumer tendencies. I saw/"re-pinned" this today:

Hard to argue with Einstein who was, by all accounts, a genius....and also alleged to have some type of learning disability, dyslexia or something... As soon as I saw this quotation, I thought of the amazing, unique, brilliant little fish I get to teach everyday and the obligation I have to help them discover their individual genius, and to dispel the lies that they or others place upon them that they are "stupid","incapable", etc...Special Education is too often a label that automatically limits the expectations that teachers have for students and that students have for themselves. My aim is to change that and help these kiddos find out what they were created to do and do well. Multiple Intelligences survey next week? Hmmmmm....

'Freely Give' 2011-2012

I can't believe it's the beginning of my 5th year teaching. Time has truly flown. Since 2007, things have changed a ton for me both personally and professionally, but mainly three:

1. In 2011-2012, my students will again call me Ms. Latimer.

2.In 2011-2012 I have the additional responsibilities of being the Curriculum Leader for our Department. I'm really looking forward to the new challenge of being a resource/support for my own team members and the amazing general education teachers on our staff.

3. In 2011-2012 (and in my lifetime) my ultimate goal is to 'freely give' to those around me.

The third point deserves more explaining... Several months ago I was struck by a piece of a verse in Matthew 10:8, 'Freely you received, freely give.' I'm sure I am taking it out of context, but whatever, it was inspiring in the best way and you can't be mad at that...

Particularly in the last 6 months to a year of my life I have been given an extraordinary amount of grace, love and care by God through the AMAZING people he has in my life. More than I could ever give back in a lifetime really. But I'm going to try. As I have freely received, I'm reminding myself daily to freely give that back into the world:to my students, my co-workers, my family, my friends and my god... Without expecting anything in return and in gratitude for all I've been given. I don't want to waste a single day that I've been blessed to spend with my students and the people in my life.

This is where my heart is, and where I hope it stays. Hope everyone's 2011-2012 Academic Calendar year is off to a great start :)

Freely give!

Irony Detectives

Took me allllll year, but finally planned/executed a lesson that had my students for all intents and purposes engaged and [seemingly] excited about learning for all 90 minutes of the period. I wish I could teach like this everyday. Maybe that comes with years. Or maybe just with more thoughtful planning. Or skill.

Last week we learned about the 3 types of irony in literature: verbal [saying the opposite of what is really meant], dramatic [when the reader knows something a character doesn't], and situational [when the opposite of what you would expect to happen happens]. We took Cornell Notes, talked about examples of irony in real life and in movies we've watched, and practiced with pulling examples from "The Tell Tale Heart" [that didn't go so well]. I thought they were ready to try out something that required a higher level of thinking and far less teacher direction...

Irony Detectives! I grouped the students in 3s or 4s and gave them the task of reading a short passage about a real crime which involved irony in some way. As a group, they had to determine which of the 3 types of irony the passage demonstrated and then, on the provided worksheet, 'state their case' for why they thought so. We did a practice case beforehand which involved a boy who joined a gang in order to protect his little brother from being further harassed. His initiation was to steal a bike and throw it off the roof of the building. In the end, his brother comes to him crying and claiming his bike had been stolen... The stolen bike had been his... It took some prompting to get my students to explain why they thought this was situational irony. Once they did though, they seemed eager to read and crack the other cases.

I gave the groups 5 minutes per case, and they completed rotating through all six without being off task at all. I loved hearing them debate and discuss their thoughts on a somewhat difficult concept to grasp and then come to consensus. The best part was, it was all them! Makes my heart happy to see them excited and using their brains to think critically.



As an important end note: there are several teachers at my school, that teach like this each and every day. They're enthusiastic, dedicated to their craft,creative, and most importantly devoted to their students. Yet, they've received pink slips due to the budget crisis and because they don't have 'seniority'. They aren't just numbers or salaries, they are inspiration. It's absolutely tragic and I'm hoping for a miracle.

Persuasive Writing

This week, my classes have been learning to write persuasive compositions. They're all pretty good, or at least think they are, at getting what they want, so they're falling into this style of thinking/writing quite naturally. Really, I'm super proud of their efforts and improvement and happy to see results of the changes I've made to my writing instruction this year thanks to a super amazing curriculum coach.

I'll be out of the classroom tomorrow and didn't really feel like writing a lesson plan, so I came up with a creative and/or manipulative way to get maximum student effort/output today with minimal effort/output for me this evening. Hence the time to write about said manipulation.

After writing for 90 seconds on three topics [see attachment], attempting to increase words written with each interval [yes, I take a workout mentality into the classroom as well. Exercise for the brain?], I told the students that those three topics would be the 3 key points they would use to write a paragraph persuading me to allow them to have a movie day tomorrow. We worked as a class to develop an organized outline with individualized elaborations, examples and evidence of each key point and then I let them loose to try and persuade me. If the assignment wasn't completed or following our "Persuasive Writing Guidelines" in order to truly convince me they were worthy of the potential and illustrious "Movie Day", they were threatened with working on a 4 page study guide in a 'Buddy Class' instead. Obviously, I was banking on them all completing the assignment correctly because lord knows I didn't want to be typing up this alleged study guide. Fortunately, they were WAY into it, and this assignment resulted in some absolute gems as far as entertainment value. I'll just attach the pictures and let you discover for yourself. See if you can spot which student was experimenting with a thesaurus....I adore adore adores these kids, perfect paragraph structure or not.

You will probably have to enlarge the screen for the full effect....

It's not you, it's me.

A friend of mine called my attention to the fact that my blog postings are, although thoughtful and interesting[thanks Jenn;that was generous!], few and far between. I wish I could excuse this sparsity with being busy, which is partially true, but there are other factors at play which I need to do some work on. Namely, my low supply of intentionality and reflection in my practice. Both of the latter were, almost, the sole purpose of starting this blog to begin with.The other, public forum, side of blogging is just good for accountability and openness; I like being able to share my heart and passion with those close to me. The fact that I don't often blog is actually indicative of the fact that I don't often reflect on where I am at in my motivations for and practice in teaching. We'll leave how it mirrors my ability to be open with those close to me for another day.Now, onto a little introspection...

Last week I was convicted again in my belief that you get back what you put out as far as energy, vibes, what have you, in the classroom. What I had been getting back for a stretch of a couple weeks was a lot of attitude and only a little motivation. Following the belief stated above, you can guess what I had been putting out. Looking back, it has been a go-to pattern of mine to revert into a routine of 'going through the motions' when I feel busy or overwhelmed externally and internally. That's okay I suppose, but I can't expect the same returns as when I am giving 110% and staying connected to the heart of what I want to do in these students' lives. A week ago I found myself feeling frustrated and annoyed that the positive dynamic we (my students and I) had going had seemed literally to have left the building. The sad thing is, I was annoyed with my students first. Blaming them, and honestly, even some of their parents for undesirable behaviors and patterns rather than taking responsibility for the only variable I can actually control in the equation, myself. When I made this mental switch and 'stepped my game up' things almost immediately turned around. I had two of my best teaching days this past Thursday and Friday. This was mostly because I planned lessons and supporting activities intentionally and I took responsibility for making sure that I was providing a positive environment for them to learn in through my words and actions. They deserve that and I'm called to that standard. I'm sure I'll slip many times to come in this area, but hopefully not for weeks at a time again. If my students were aware of this at all, I'd like to apologize to them and say the classic line a bit out of it's usual context: it's not you, it's me.

Christmas in October

The 2010-2011 school year started out with a bang. And by 'bang' I mean being told I wasn't technically qualified/credentialed for my current job and, long story short, I'll be going back to school in Spring 2011 to get my Administrative Credential and M.A. Essentially, this new life plan means that I won't be in the classroom as long as I originally envisioned 4 years ago. This is a bittersweet thought, but lately I've been trying to take teaching (and all things life) one day at a time and enjoy people and moments as they come.

Speaking of enjoying people and moments as they come,here's a really sweet anecdote from today:

The setting was Homework Club in my room, per every Monday-Wednesday from 3:00-4:15. About an hour deep into studying for finals and working on his homework, one
of my students, who is also a foster youth, says to no one in particular, "It feels like Christmas!" I sarcastically replied from across the room, "the 85 degree weather reminds you of Christmas how exactly?" He looked pensive for a moment and then corrected me with, "no, I just think this is how Christmas feels. I feel like I'm at home." He smiled, satisfied with his explanation of declaring Christmas in October, and got back to work while I got to thinking:

This is the type of moment I treasure now, but already miss.Will I be able to create 'Christmas' for students in some capacity when I eventually walk away from the classroom teacher role?

The Gift of Words

Warning: this post is for me. It's for me on those exhausting days when I feel like all my planning, teaching, disciplining,ranting and raving are pointless. It is to remind me of the fact that after a full year of me "all up in their business" my students don't, in fact, hate me.

This post is for me, but I also can't help but want to share it with you.

At the end of last Friday, I was surprised to see a stack of letters on my desk. I think there must have been an assignment to write a thank you letter to a teacher in their gen ed Language Arts class. Their sweet little words brought me the encouragement I needed to motivate me to finish the year well. Plus, they're pretty darn funny.

I transcribed the letters below, with minimal spelling or grammar corrections...

"I am thanking you Mrs.Drummond because you always help me when I need help. You also don't have favorites, you are equal to everyone. And you always don't grade us hard for some of the mistakes on our work that we do. So that's why I am thanking you."
-JW

"Dear Mrs. Drummond, You are the best teacher I ever had because you always know the best thing to do when there is a problem."
-SS

"Thank you for the great things u did for me to be successful in school organization and how to be a good student. Anyways thank u for being my great teacher. bye. PS Happy Mother's Day!"
-DB

"Thank you Mrs. Drummond 4 all the fun this year we had and thanks for your teaching. Mrs. Drummond you will always be my favorite wicked, smart, funny teacher. Thank you and God bless you!"
-CW

"Thank you letter:Mrs. Drummond because she helped me raise my grades and helps me in school. She made school easier for me because she helps me with my homework."
-BT


"Mrs. Drummond is the best math teacher. She helps us and teaches us the fastest and better way. She tries her best for us to pass 7th grade. She is the best teacher that I could ever have. When I am in high school I will not forget the best 7th grade teacher. Mrs. Drummond helps me become a smart person and a better person. She helps me succeed in all my classes."
-NG


"Dear Mrs. Drummond, your the best teacher I had this year. You like to help me and you support me. You helped me when I fall and I love you for being the good teacher you are."
-BF

"To the best teacher in the world: Thank you for being the best teacher in the world. I had a lot of fun in your class. You are always trying to help me with my work. I am going to miss you when I am on summer break. Tell my other teachers that I'm going to miss them too."
-CT

When 10 Percent becomes 30 to 50 Percent...

He wasn't at school this Friday. Three months ago this would have status quo, but today it broke my heart.

J. was placed on my caseload about 3 months ago. When I initially looked at his academic, attendance and behavior record I thought, "this ought to be a doo-sie..." He was attending school only 25% of the time and when he would show up, he was constantly getting kicked out of class for being disruptive. He'd not had a grade higher than an F in years. The first day having J. in my classes, I was pleasantly surprised to meet a polite young man who actually seemed to get some of the lame jokes I throw out during class that normally go over my students' heads.

As the days and weeks went on, I discovered that J.'s home life is an absolute wreck. There really isn't any element of 'home' involved in his life from what I can tell. His mother is on drugs [which,if I questioned, was clarified after meeting to talk with her about getting J. to school on a regular basis] and only comes to the house J. and his sisters live in once in a while. Needless to say, I am the one signing his progress reports for his other classes. There is never less than 10 people in and out of the house on any given day; J. told me he doesn't usually know who they are but assumes they are his mom's "friends". He doesn't have any other family in the area and hasn't been able to make friends as he has moved schools every 4-5 months. Basically, the kid has been on his own in the world with little to no rules, boundaries, limitations or even basic care.

I had the opportunity I'd been waiting and preparing for for the past few years: to intervene and show what it is like to have someone really care and provide structure, rules, discipline, advice and consistency in a student's life who truly NEEDS that. I get to see J. for at least 3 hours a day, which is likely more time than he spends with any adult. I truly poured the next couple of months into pushing J. to do his best in school. We talked about what it takes to be successful and how, for him particularly, education is the key to a brighter future. I'm so proud of him for actually listening to me [at least one of them listens to my daily rants and lectures on life!] and stepping up. The past 4 weeks he has only missed one day of school and has three C's and 2 F's. He tells me, with a little smile on his face, exactly what he did to be more productive and successful each day and I pump him up and encourage him to keep going...

Unfortunately, it turns out that J. has been involved with a couple of older boys(17 and 18) who dropped out of high school and spend their time in all sorts of no good. J. has attention, auditory and visual processing deficits which, by no means excuse him from criminal activity, but definitely make him easily influenced by peers and/or people he perceives as friends. Last week, J. was pulled out of class and questioned by an officer at school who revealed that the police have physical evidence linking J. to at least 5 home break-ins, numerous theft jobs and one arson case. J. was visibly scared and, not surprisingly, admitted to everything he did and gave the officer all the information he requested.

Here is what truly makes my heart ache:
J and a 5th grader working with/for the 17/18 year old were given 5 dollars for breaking into the homes and taking out what they could. I can account for 2-3 dollars of that money each week. J. buys his school supplies from me.When arrested, the older boys told the officer that they could get J. to do whatever they wanted because he had such a messed up family life. I feel like he never had a chance for anything but this; a victim of circumstance and irresponsibility. I can't say that, if I was born into his life, I'd make any better decisions.

J. was told that he would be arrested within a week or so for his crimes and we wondered if he would show up the next day at school. He did, and he had all his homework and makeup work I told him he needed to do. He came everyday this week with the same positive attitude and motivation. Except Friday.

We'll see what comes of this, but I know that no matter what happens I will be at his hearings to show him that I do truly care about him and that he still has a chance to better his life through education. Maybe Juvenile Hall will be a more stable living environment for him. Maybe he will have an awesome teacher who understands his learning differences and sees the kid who wants to succeed that I do. Maybe he'll get his GED there or even get out and finish high school. Maybe he will keep his head up and strive to make something better of his life despite incarceration. Maybe he won't get out and have become yet another learning disabled adult who will be in and out of prison for a lifetime. Maybe. I don't know if I believe that any of those 'maybes' will be true for J. or not, but it can't hurt for him to think that I do.

I found the following statistic on the National Center on Education, Disability and Juvenile Justice:

"Approximately 10 percent of youth are identified as disabled and in need of special education by public school systems nationally. In contrast, 30 to 50 percent of incarcerated youth have disabilities (Casey & Keilitz, 1990; Murphy, 1986). In other words, the prevalence of youth with disabilities is three to five times greater in juvenile corrections than in public school populations. This troubling phenomenon, called overrepresentation or disproportionate representation, occurs most frequently among incarcerated youth with emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning disabilities (LD), and mild mental retardation (MR) (Rutherford, Bullis, Anderson, & Griller, 2000)."

Let alone a "messed up" family life.

7th grade is just too late for a mentor,counselor or teacher to step into these kids' lives to hopefully prevent things like this from happening. I wish for J., and many others like him, that someone had seem him earlier.

PS. I wish there were more people like Kacie Stratton and places like The Greenhouse in this world.

The Hopes and Fears of All the Years (or at least 2010)

This particular Sunday night is the night before beginning the first class sessions of 2010. Blogging is not something that I do well on a regular basis, but I have always though that it is a way to force growth. I believe that taking time to think and to write helps me to become a better and more self-aware educator. I should do it more often.

Toward the end of every break from teaching, I feel like everything positive and effective I have worked toward/achieved in my classroom is going to crumble. I literally have nightmares that a mutiny will arise, prisoners will be taken, and I will be powerless to stop it. I don't know when or if this fear will ever cease, but for 3 years it has been present every single time. I get a telltale knot in my stomach a few days before school starts, the Sunday evening after Thanksgiving or Christmas, after a relaxing and carefree Spring Break and, to be quite honest, sometimes even after 3 day weekends. I still feel so green and unsure of myself and the way I manage my classroom. No matter what success I've had prior to breaks or in previous years, coming back into that fluorescent arena is downright intimidating to me. I wonder if I'm the only teacher, new or seasoned, who feels this way...

The new year is inherently full of new beginnings and resolutions to change or be better at an element of life. I've been thinking the past week or so about what I want to resolve for the remaining 2009-2010 school year. What I have come up with so far is that I resolve to, 1) be more consistent in the practices I know are effective and 2)to take time to sense and act upon what is more important than being consistent in those practices...That makes sense in my head, but for anyone else who may read this, let me explain:

Addressing Part 1 of my resolution: I know that certain methods of instruction are researched and proved to be effective. I also know that putting in extra time and thought to make lessons engaging and relative is effective for learning. I resolve to teach using methods that people much more experienced than I have tried and proven to be effective, as well as to give 100% of my own enthusiasm in the delivery of my lessons.. .

I know that fair and consistent discipline is also necessary and effective for learning and socialization. Unfortunately, as a product of my people-pleasing and generally non-confrontational personality, I am continually working on being consistent in effectively disciplining my students. Although I have my rules and procedures paired with appropriate consequences, I sometimes fail to follow through with 100% consistency. This results in an unstable and ineffective learning environment; I resolve to (without power-struggle, defensiveness or anger) enact my consequences when necessary and then move forward with instruction.

Part 2 of my resolution is just as [and arguably more] important as being consistent in teaching and disciplining with best practices... There are those times when students pose a question or make a statement that I know/feel is packed with potential for a life lesson. I, oftentimes, keep moving along as to not get behind in my curriculum. Sure, I'll give a sentence or two in response, but continue with my agenda for fear of.. .Well, I'm not sure what the fear is. State Standards? The CST scores for my subgroup? My colleagues' opinions? Personal control issues? I feel my calling is to be an influential part of these students lives for the 2 years I have them. If I don't stop and address the things that will help them to grow and succeed beyond my classroom and academics,do I truly care about the job I've been blessed with? In 2010, I am going to keep my mind and heart open to the potential for life-enriching conversations to happen in my classroom. Maybe we won't get as in depth on a Direct Object lesson, but one student may hear a word he desperately needs about responding to authority figures, the purpose of going to college, how to resist inevitable peer-pressure, why school matters, etc...

My students absolutely deserve these resolutions from me. I'm going to ask them to make resolutions academically, behaviorally and socially tomorrow. I will make sure to tell them mine.

A Case for Positive Behavioral Support (PBS) PART I

I finished my ninth half marathon this morning and may have even PR'ed (still waiting for my chip time to post online)! Now that I've refueled with an In and Out grilled cheese/animal style meal (TMI?) I have all afternoon to do non-active things, like blog!

Something that has been on my mind recently is the debate on using incentive, or token, systems as Positive Behavioral Support (PBS) for secondary students. Some make the argument that students should be motivated intrinsically to behave and do well in school; they should do it because that's what they are supposed to do. What happens when the incentive system is taken away and they are unable to maintain on their own?

Parents ask every year, as do other school staff members. I've felt obligated to ask and answer these same questions of myself in order to give a thoughtful reply to these questions. I've spent many hours reading some of the plethora of research articles on PBS and incentive based systems. I don't want to practice anything in my profession that is not supported by research. After all, I am new and I should really leave it to the experts in the field :)

So here is my case:

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my job. I love coming to work, am willing to put in "overtime," and think of my job as really fun most days. That said, if I were not to get paid for this job I love so much, I would certainly not show up. For most learning disabled students, school is not something they LOVE,LOVE, LOVE. It is flat out hard. For many, school has always been a place of negative associations and little success. Hence behavior problems, poor grades and low motivation. Understandable.I can't imagine being forced to show up everyday to do something that I had repeatedly failed at. No adult in their right mind would put themselves in that position.

Do I expect that these students show up to school? Of course, that is the law. But do I expect them to be instantly happy or motivated to do so? Not at all. But, do I think that I can get them to a place where they begin to feel successful and start to replace those negative associations with positive ones? Absolutely.

Enter the incentive system I use with my students, the Student Salary...

Interested at all? STAY TUNED for PART II where I will explain how and why this system works!

Girl's League

If you only have a moment, skip down to the bottom of this blog for the entertainment portion...

Today was the first official meeting of a new club that myself and two colleagues are heading up at Ed Harris called Girl's League. The intent of this club is to create a safe environment where girls can make and foster positive relationships and self-esteem.

The kickoff was a fun, positive experience and I am really looking forward to getting to know each of the girls through the year.

After introducing ourselves, we had the girls think about one woman they look up to and why. The answers they gave were varied. Some girls could barely muster the courage to say who it was they looked up to, let alone why. Some girls spoke of looking up to Michelle Obama, Oprah and Tyra Banks because they are all successful and do good things in this world. Some looked up to the first college graduate in their families. Many girls looked up to their moms and grandmothers for raising their children without a husband's help and/or surviving a difficult childhood and becoming independent and successful women despite.



I shared about the woman I look up to most in this world, my Mom, and felt blessed to be able to relate to what some of the girls had said. I look up to my mom for SO many reasons: she is beautiful, generous, hospitable, strong,intelligent, thoughtful and has a solid faith. But even beyond that, she became this beautiful person out of an incredibly difficult childhood of an alcoholic father, (at times) raising herself, starting work from an early age to support herself, and on. She didn't have a mother who mothered her children consistently well, yet she is the best mother I have ever met. She didn't have wealth in her early life, but she doesn't take for granted what she is blessed with now. She experienced pain and abuse that many haven't and hopefully won't, yet she is joyful and uses what she has learned from her past to encourage and change others lives. My Mom is proof to me that it doesn't matter where you come from or what negative, external things you experienced in your past, the choices you make in life for yourself are what determine the type of person you will become. That makes me proud and happy, and I hope it encouraged my girls as well...



The rest of the club time we talked about what we envisioned for the club. To jump start the "getting to know you" process, we asked each girl to answer two questions on a piece of purple paper before they left:

1) What do you expect and/or want from Girl's League this year?

2) What do you like most about being a girl?

We got great feedback which I compiled into two lists to deliver to the girls during their classes tomorrow. I'm hoping this will excited them to come back for the next meeting. I enjoyed reading through all of their thoughtful responses. However,if you refer back to one of my previous postings, you may not be surprised that I was struck again by the curse of the NO boundaries student who also happened to join Girl's League.

This is her answer to the 2nd question (note where I'm pointing) for your viewing pleasure...

Have a Nice Weekend

I have, what I consider, the best job. My students are, for the most part, very literal. Sometimes I forget that. This leads to some of the most funny, endearing stories.

For instance,the first Friday of the school year when I told my students, in my most serious tone, that their homework assignment was to "have a nice weekend," and three of them came in on Monday ready to turn in essays with some variation of the title "My Nice Weekend."

Only two Fridays later I tried to pull the same trick over on them again. This time, the Friday homework assignment was to, "have a safe and relaxing weekend." Some giggled, remembering what I'd said the first week, but one student raised his hand and looked perturbed. When I called on him he asked in all sincerity, "what if I have a football game this weekend?" I thought fast and responded, "well, do you have pads you will be wearing?" He answered yes, so I told him that he would still be able to meet the requirements of the assignment. He looked relieved.

Picture day was last week. I walked my students over to the multipurpose room and had them go in to take their pictures and meet me outside afterward. When the first photo finisher came out I asked him casually, "alright,_______how was your smile?" I was expecting a verbal answer of yes, no, alright, etc... but he stopped in his tracks and literally demonstrated what his smile looked like in the photo he'd just taken. I thought this adorable act was a one time thing, but I decided I'd go ahead and ask each student the same question as they came out. All but one tried their hardest to replay their exact smile. It was the sweetest and silliest thing I've seen in a while. Maybe ever. Whenever I look at their pictures I can't help but smile at their sincerity and innocence. Take a look and hopefully they'll bring a smile to you too:

I asked for it...

The question on my Student Interest Survey was, "please share anything you want me to know (or that I need to know) before we start our semester together."

Looks like we'll be needing to discuss boundaries this year...

Pop Quiz. Literally...

Even multiple choice test can be fun and engaging. I swear.

My students took their first, 25 question, multiple choice Pop Quiz today.

Sometimes you have to think outside the box when you have students with ADHD and/or low reading skills...

1. Take a regular multiple choice test and cut the questions into strips...


2. Fold up the paper strips small enough to fit through a balloon opening and then blow up/tie off each balloon.

3. Tell students they can take the test the regular way, or a super fun way (make sure you have printed copies ready to threaten with)depending on how they choose to behave.

4. Assuming they choose the latter, ask students take out a piece of binder paper and number 1-25.

5. Next, scare them to death by popping the first balloon yourself and read question number one (I show mine on the ELMO projector for those visual learners) and it's answer options aloud. This is also a great chance to introduce process of elimination and other test taking strategies by MODELING!

6. Students quietly record their answers on the binder paper.

7. While they record their answer, pass the next balloon to a student. They pop the question for number 2 and bring the question strip up for you to project/read.
(They can pop balloon with a pencil, sitting on it or stomping on it!)

8. Repeat numbers 5 and 6 for the remainder of the questions.

Student learning has been assessed and attention has definitely been kept. Plus, it's incredibly entertaining to watch them jump with each pop.
Win-Win-Win!