Summers Off/On

My Dad has been teaching for over 30 years. He has no plans to retire anytime soon because, as he puts it, he loves his job and is able to keep doing it, so why stop? You go, Dad. Anyway, I don't know what it is about teachers, but they seem to amass a lot of novelty mugs. One mug that I remember seeing when I was a kid was a pure white mug with a few words on it:

3 Reasons To Love Teaching:

June

July

August

That's exactly how it looked on the mug. I can see it in my mind's eye. It took me a while to get the joke behind this mug, but rest assured, I get it now. There is this idea that teachers have the summer months "off." I have to tell you that everyday over the summer break, my Dad wakes up at his normal time (4:45 am), bikes into school, updates his curriculum and does other teacher stuff, and then bikes home. I've never seen my Dad have a summer off, and I know a lot of other teachers who spend their summers tutoring, teaching summer school, or working part-time or full-time summer jobs to supplement their income. When I was growing up, it was not uncommon to go to Hershey Park (a local attraction where I'm from) and run into a couple of my teachers working around the Park. 

So you may be wondering what I have planned for this summer. First and foremost, I have a road trip planned to meet my future in-laws, as well as a family trip to the beach planned, but I also have some big school plans for the summer!

Goal #1:

Plan for the first six weeks of school with the help of my friends Paula Denton and Roxann Kriete. This book is part of the Responsive Classroom Model. The idea of Responsive Classroom is that the social-emotional curriculum of your classroom is just as important as the academic curriculum. This book is an amazing guide to structure the routines and procedures you want to put in place in the early days of the school year. Once I find out where and what grade I will be teaching, I want to hit the ground running with planning.  

Goal #2:

Hit up every Yard Sale I possible can to collect books and things for my classroom! I want my classroom to be a warm and welcoming place, and that means putting some extra, personal touches in the room. I have no idea what this might look like, but I know that I will be on the look out for inexpensive things that may present themselves at neighborhood yard sales. You never know what you will find!

Goal #3:

Brush up on my science skills. When I took all my methods classes last semester, I was definitely most nervous for Science Methods. I think science is the subject that I have the least natural capabilities for, which meant that growing up, I sort of hated it. I now take a more Growth Mindset approach to the subject and know that as long as I work hard at it and persist, I will be a competent science teacher. I also know that I could use some extra help. I'm a member of the National Science Teachers Association and as such, I have access to a lot of online resources and magazines they send me in the mail. Since I'm so busy, those magazines usually end up in a pile of unread things. But! This summer I plan on catching up on all things science-y so I can be extra-prepared for the school year. 

Goal #4:

Plan our wedding. I know that this isn't technically about school, but what do you think is going to suffer if our wedding isn't planned by the time the school year starts? Yeah, that would be my sanity, and my sanity is key to being a good teacher. If I get major wedding things out of the way over the summer, then I won't have to worry about them in September and early/mid October, when I will be teaching full-time. I might as well write some sub-plans for October 30th, because I definitely won't be in school that day…

Goal #5: 

Take care of myself. This speaks for itself. I need to be in a good place when I head into that classroom because my future students deserve the best I can give them!

  

Moving Slowly

Student - "I just hate math."

     Rachel – "Why do you feel that way?"

Student – "I just don’t like it. It’s hard."

     Rachel – "It’s hard…"

Student – "I’m really slow at it."

     Rachel – "Oh, you’re slow at it. Did you know that being slow at something doesn’t mean you’re bad at it?"


This is an excerpt from a conversation I had with a student last week. It's serving as an artifact for my Term V project. What do I mean by artifact? Here's what my assignment description says:

The artifacts are an integral part of your presentation. They are the evidence on which your case (your argument) is built. Examples of artifacts you might use include: student work, lesson plans, journal or blog entries, field notes, excerpts from course papers, meaningful photographs, transcripts of conversations, very brief audio/video clips and notes from meetings or lectures.

In my Term V assignment, I'm trying to argue that when teaching students, it is important to 1) give them tasks that are authentic and meaningful, 2) differentiate instruction to provide students multiple avenues to access the information, and 3) emphasize a growth mindset so that all students can feel successful. 

Phew. Just writing that took me about five minutes. I'm having a really hard time working on my Term V assignment. I'm not sure if it's because I have no idea what I'm doing or because I have a serious case of cabin fever. Either way, I'm moving slowly and getting frustrated with myself.

It's ironic that I was able to counsel a student on her feelings about being slow at math, when I'm in a similar situation now. If I could take my own advice, I would acknowledge that yes, I am working slowly, but that doesn't necessarily mean I am doing a bad job.

Okay, so I guess I can get back to work now!

Life Lately.

I'M GETTING MARRIED!

Just had to get that out of the way. Just two short weeks ago my boyfriend James popped the question, and ever since then I've been totally 100% on top of my school work because planning a wedding in six months is not hard at all.

"Sike, naw," as my students like to say.

We decided to get married sooner rather than later, so we're getting married in Philly on Halloween! It's super exciting, and James has done a lot of the heavy lifting to lock down the church, reception venue, caterer, and photographer, but there is still a lot to do which is why I spent a few hours last Sunday designing our Save the Dates instead of updating this blog or, oh yeah, DOING MY TERM FIVE ASSIGNMENT.

The Term Five assignment is my Portfolio, the culminating project at the end of my grad school career. I graduate on May 16th, which is less than a month away. It's hard to believe that I'm working on my last assignment for Penn when I can easily cast my memory back to when I was working on my first one! One year programs are intense, but even now, as I sit here at my desk which is super organized because I have a bad case of stress-cleaning, I wouldn't have it any other way. I feel extremely prepared to have my own classroom, and I am so proud of how much I've learned and how far I've come in such a short time! So let's ignore Term Five for now, since I'm sure I'll write another post about it once it's over, and let's focus on the fun stuff. Job searching!

My job search has been focused on two areas of the state: Philadelphia and south-central PA. Let's talk about Philly first. I have wanted to teach in the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) since I moved here, so I have actively been pursuing a job with the SDP. I started the online job application in late February; the application was very lengthy. A week later, I scheduled a phone interview. After the phone interview, I had to wait a couple of weeks for them to send me the final stage of the application, which was an online activity about reading and interpreting student data. Hopefully within the next week I will hear back about whether or not I make it into the final pool of candidates. Once that happens, principals across the city will be able to see my resume and decide whether or not they want to invite me in for a site-selection interview. Throughout the process I just described, I also attended two principal/candidate meet and greets at the SDP's headquarters. I was really nervous at the first one and probably didn't put myself out there as much as I should, but I tried to make up for it at the second meet and greet. After the meet and greet, I sent out emails to principals and teachers I met who worked at schools I was really interested in. I heard back from one school, and I spoke with their Director of Operations yesterday as a sort of pre-site selection interview conversation. I was nervous, but I think it went well (fingers crossed!). I'm debating whether or not to attend a third meet and greet. I probably should, but we'll see how things go this week. I'm also looking at some districts that are in the Philly area, though I haven't yet applied to them.

The other area of the state I've been focusing on is south-central PA, which is where most of my family lives. I check job postings for school districts in this area, and that's about it. If James ends up getting a job in that area of the state (before I get a job in this area of the state), then I will be putting more energy into applying.

To close out, let me try something new:

Looking forward to: Finishing Term Five, hearing back about job interviews, and graduating!
Looking at: Pictures of wedding dresses and cats on the internet.
Listening to: Matt & Kim, Beirut, the Beatles, and Spotify's "Intense Studying" playlist.
Listening for: The ice cream truck to roll down the street, because it's spring time now and that means ice cream cones whenever I want!

- Rachel

Teacher Must-Haves

Want to be a teacher? There are some things you're going to need. Here are, in my opinion, some teacher must-haves.

• Good shoes - Hey, have you heard? Teachers stand/walk/jog/run around a lot. It all starts with what's on your feet. I recently got a pair of Dansko clogs. They are pricey, but they feel so good when you're on your feet all day! Unfortunately I don't know enough about men's shoes to make a recommendation there. I will say that my dad has been a teacher for 30+ years and he has been wearing the same loafers my whole life. So maybe we should all invest in a pair of loafers!

• Water bottle - I don't want to say all teachers talk a lot, because I think the students' voices should be heard more than the teacher's voice - BUT, it is hard on the voice to get 20+ kids' attention all at once. There's also yelling that occurs on the recess yard (but not in the classroom!!!). Even if we didn't talk a lot as teachers, staying hydrated is just an important thing to do for your own health. For the environment's sake, go green and invest in a nice water bottle. I'm pretty anti-plastic bottles. Ever read "Bottlemania"?

• Whistle - Two words: recess duty.

• Morning/Evening soundtrack - Whether you prefer the dulcet tones of NPR in the morning, or if you just like the awkward silence of the Market-Frankford Line, make sure you have some type of morning soundtrack to listen to. I grew up with NPR and classical music in the car (which I love), but it doesn't exactly pump me up for a demanding day of teaching. I prefer fast-paced songs in the morning, and quieter, more reflective songs at the close of the day. Unless I woke up on the wrong side of the bed, and then I reverse it. 

• Tissues - Kids and runny noses go together, and teachers should always be prepared! 

• Lots of phone memory - You never know when you're going to want to photograph or record a great lesson or pieces of student work. It's important to document what the students are doing, both for your benefit and your kids' benefit. Pictures of your kids writing or completing projects make more authentic room decorations than store-bought posters. Keep your phone memory free to accommodate any pictures or videos. 

• Hand sanitizer - Obviously it's no replacement for the good old fashioned soap and water routine, but it can't hurt to have some hand sanitizer in your classroom, on your keys, etc. 

• Happy Place - Sometimes you're going to want to leave school before the day is over, or you'll want to leave your classroom while your kids are still in it. Don't do it! It's not safe for the kids, and you might get fired. Instead, have a Happy Place you can go to. This Happy Place could be a mental recess (e.g. "Remember that one time I got a massage? It was the best feeling ever.") or it could be a corner of your classroom or a step or two outside your classroom that is designed for this purpose. My Happy Place is the water fountain. I'm a pretty well-hydrated person (see previous point about water bottles), so I visit the water fountain at least once a day. It's a nice chance to clear my head and just not say or do anything but fill up my water bottle. 

…and last, but certainly, not least:

• Snacks - Most elementary school kids eat snack at the midpoint between when school stars and when lunch is served. My first few days of school, it was hard to watch my kids dig into carrots or Animal Crackers and not think, "Oh my goodness, I am starving." Having a granola bar or quick snack food is very important. Keep your blood sugar at a healthy level and bring a snack to school! 

That's all for now. When I remember ten more things that I think are "Must-Haves" I'll write another post like this! 

- Rachel 

What's a Two-Week Takeover?

Two-week takeover (n.) - ten schools day during which a student-teacher takes on full teaching responsibilities; a tiring, yet very fun experience.

ex: I've been in bed at 9:00 every night since my two-week takeover started. 

One week down, one more to go! My two-week takeover is off to a great start. Here's a little glimpse at  what I've been doing:

• KWL Chart - What we KNOW, what we WONDER and what we LEARNED all find a place to live on this simple graphic organizers. To start out my thematic unit on play, I worked with my students to fill out a KWL chart. We've been referring to it over the course of the week and adding to it as we see fit.

• Voices in the Park - I mentioned this book in a previous blog post. I read it aloud to my students and gave them three different writing prompts to choose from. The prompts all related to the role of play in the book. It went well, but I'm not sure the kids really enjoyed the book as much as I thought they would. 

• Estrellita se despide de su isla/Estrellita Says Goodbye to Her Island - Also mentioned this book before. I brushed off my Italian skills and tried to apply them to reading this bilingual Spanish and English book. My friend Mike helped me out a LOT! I did my best with the pronunciation, and it must have worked because the kids LOVED this book. They really delved deeply into discussing Estrellita's experiences in saying goodbye to her homeland. I also asked a series of questions in which I asked them to imagine that Estrellita was going to be a new student in our classroom. They empathized with her and talked about ways they could make her feel welcome. It was great.

• Venn Diagram activity/Google Street View - Playgrounds look different depending on where you are. Using Google Street view, we examined the play area at a public school in North Philly and compared it to our own playground using a Venn Diagram. The students were really curious about the school's play area and even asked if we could take a field trip there! 

• 4 Corners/Debate - Best. Lesson. Ever. I am so proud of this one. I started out by pointing out four signs that were hung around our room (Agree, Strongly Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree). I read three statements and the kids moved silently to the sign that matched their opinion. My statements were: 1) When I play, I feel like grownups are always telling me what I can and can't do; 2) I like to play in ways that grownups don't always understand; and 3) We don't need teachers with us at recess. The students' opinions were extremely interesting. After that, I showed them two videos of an adventure playground in Wales called "The Land." They were HOOKED! After we talked about what we observed in the videos, I explained that we were going to debate the safety issues of adventure playgrounds. It was entirely student led. I told them that I didn't want to call on students, so we were going to run the debate like a Quaker meeting: we sat in silence and if you felt like you had something to say, then you stood up and said it. A lot of the time five or six kids would stand up at a time, but I didn't say anything. They worked it out themselves. One kid would start to talk and the others would sit down. There may have been a few disgruntled sighs, but really they did a fantastic job. They were so engaged and had wonderful things to say. 

So that's what I've been up to! I feel like I'm living from one hour to the next. I have everything planned out, but I'm always trying to stay one step ahead of the game, making sure that I'm planning for things to go wrong and keeping one eye on the clock. It's been exhausting, but I'm loving it. 

- Rachel 

p.s. I made it through two rounds of interviews with the School District of Philadelphia! Fingers crossed.