Ice and Snow Days

This has been a crazy week full of freezing temperatures, ice, and snow. While I have enjoyed my yard being covered in white, it has raised two points of discussion that have truly irritated me.

1.  Schools are closed, and parents are irritated about being home with them.

2. Schools making decisions about whether or not schools will be closed, and parents getting angry no matter what decision is made.

On Monday and Tuesday, February 23rd & 24th, my school district, along with the majority of those around us, decided to close.  It was great that both decisions were made the night before, and we could actually sleep through the night, not setting alarms.

I don't like having Ice/Snow Days.  We were just off for Christmas and then we get a day off for MLK, Jr Day.  I look forward to the built in Snow Day holidays later in the semester when we need a day off to rejuvenate.  I hate to use a Snow Day when it isn't necessary.  However, I do not want anyone on the road when they are bad.  I know what a hard decision it has to be for school districts to make.

I know there was a wave of excitement moving across the Metroplex Tuesday night and Wednesday morning from all the parents/loved ones who had been locked up with children for two days.  Monday evening and Tuesday brought many Facebook comments from parents about their frustration of being at home with their children.  The number of comments I saw really angered me.  All I wanted to yell (and post in all capital letters) was "They are your children!  You had them! You think it is hard to deal with them for 2 days? Try being their teacher all year.  The teachers spend time with your child and 20+ more every day for more hours than a parent has them.  Try being a teacher on the day it is snowing while still at school.  Come on, people!"  The more comments I saw, the more I bit my tongue.  I tell you, it almost fell off.

We were back in school on Wednesday and Thursday.  Heading to bed Thursday night, meteorologists were forecasting 1-4 inches of snow on Friday, followed by freezing rain.  When we awoke, nothing was falling, and roads were fine. My district and most surrounding districts made the decision to have a normal day of school. Then . . . around 9:00 or so, the snow began.  It kept falling and falling.  What was melting due to traffic on roads was refreezing making layers of ice under the snow.  A few districts started closing at 10:30, 11:00, 12:00, 1:45, etc.  My district chose to stay open and run buses at regular times.  For parents who wanted, they could pick-up their children for excused absences due to weather.  Bridges, road shoulders, and parking lots were icy and slick, but the most driven parts of the highways were fine. Later in the evening, I read the district's Facebook posts about staying open and then I read parents' comments.  Again, complaining, which frustrated me again.

I completely understand the fear parents have about the safety of their children.  I respect that.  However, a district has to do what they think is best for the majority. When schools close, many times, students are going home to empty homes.  Parents struggle to get home due to weather and traffic, and getting home earlier makes for even more difficulty.  If schools are closed, children who depend on schools for meals don't get them.  They go hungry every day schools are closed. Parents always have the right to pick-up their children when they think they are in danger.  However, they do not have to complain or gripe at the district for the decision they are making when it is being made for the whole.

At no point does a district or administrator set-out to make people's lives difficult or put children in danger.  Decisions have to be made for the good of the whole and with the details/information that they have at the moment.  Not everyone will be happy, and I understand that.  I just wish parents stopped to realize what all goes into a district's decision.


Here are few pics:

Moving Boxes Again & Shopping for Supplies

This morning, I began sorting, labeling, organizing, and moving 56 boxes of Science equipment and supplies.  These boxes ranged in size and shape, and they all but filled up our workroom.  It was very difficult to get to the copy machines, paper cutters, di-cut materials, and bathroom.  After about 1.5 hours, everything was done and delivered to their Prep Labs (thanks to some help from students), and I had walked at least 2.2 miles in the process.  That is a good chunk of burnt calories first thing in the morning, and of course, let's not forget the energy burned actually picking up and moving the boxes.

I ended my day by going shopping after dinner to get supplies for our 8th grade Science teachers--Oreos or sandwich cookies and lollipops for Moon Phases and Graham Crackers and icing for Plate Tectonics.  Next week is going to be a fun week in Science.  Of course, that is working around going to the Planetarium too.

Over 5.5 miles total today.  That is a lot of walking at work.

More Unpacking

Yesterday and today have been spent doing even more unpacking.  I spent all morning yesterday working with the new teachers.  When I returned to my office, both professional looking desks and all their parts had been removed, all the books sitting on top of the desk were put back in boxes, and all the filing cabinets were gone.  Do you know how much work I had done????  Any way . . . 2 new/different desks were placed in there.  More teacher like than professional, but they will be fine.

By the end of today, I had unpacked a total of 85 boxes of books.  There are still at least 10-20 more to go.  I am out of space to even work.  I have boxes of stuff that are not novels, but I have nowhere to put those items, and I can't unpack them until I finish with the books.  Boxes just keep getting moved around trying to make space.  I would love to move some finished boxes (sorted, labeled, and ready for classroom libraries) to the hallway, but they haven't waxed it yet, so I am trying to stay out of the custodians' way.

I got 2 tables that match the desks to help add work space for me and if someone is ever hired for the other position.  I almost lost the tables b/c they weren't supposed to be in my office, but after some talking and working with others, it all worked out, and I get to keep my furniture.  I still have no storage, so I have gotten 3 small cabinets with doors and shelves.  They will work fine.  I almost lost those too due to miscommunication and lack of labeling, but I have them back now.  Yea!  I will give them away if I don't need them when the shelves are put in.

Furniture is really a small thing, so I am not stressing.  I do have the largest office in the entire building, and for that, I am grateful.  Now . . . to get these books out so I can work on my stuff and decorate! That will take several more days and many more hours.

Let the Unpacking Begin!

I am sure I have said it somewhere, but we had a 2 story bldg added onto our building, a hallway was completely redone to be made into classrooms from Fine Arts rooms, major renovations took place around the office, and every room & hallway have been painted.  We packed up the entire bldg before June 9th.  Now, we are unpacking it.  I was given special permission to work in my new office this afternoon, so my mom and I arranged 2/3 of my desk and unpacked 52 boxes of books.

The books were not located in my office before, and they will not stay now.  I plan to divide them up and give everyone a set to make a classroom library.  Now . . . to have the time and energy to make it happen. 

The chalkboard and white board were supposed to be removed and replaced with white bookshelves.  That didn't happen.  The shelves were saved from the trash and are being kept safe for now.  We hope they will be installed in about a month.

My former office-mate has become an Assistant Principal at one of our local high schools.  I am sooooo excited for her, but I will miss her.  We were given the old Assistant Principals' furniture, so I will keep both sets of furniture (in case they hire someone to replace her), and the office will actually look professional and inviting. (Our old office was so tiny, made up of mismatched furniture, and I pretty much only had a computer desk for a desk.)  This space is going to be great! Oh, the plans I have!

(I just created this pics to share with my BFFs, but I decided to put them here too.)
None of the filing cabinets are mine.  They just stored them here for now.

Before doing any work.

 

After arranging one desk and unpacking 52 boxes.

Last Day of School for 2013-2014

Today was the last day of school, and I wasn't sure I was going to make it to the end and have everything finished. We had to pack the entire building for remodeling, sprinkler system, and painting. If you have never experienced this, you are so missing out.  Science Prep Labs, hundreds of novels, Math manipulatives, Science games and manipulatives, my office, random materials & supplies, technology, SpEd paperwork, oh my! I learned a lot about chemicals and chemical disposal throughout the process. (We found things from 1973, which has to be around the time the building opened. I can't find the year it opened, but I will keep looking.) On top of all this, one of our Science teachers was in an accident and received an extremely serious head injury on Memorial Day.  This led to working with a sub to finish the year and assisting with packing up this classroom.  (I have some amazing Science teachers that worked together to help the sub and make sure the room was packed.) We had a few other teachers on long term leave, so we had to check on the packing of those rooms too. I (or we) got it done, so now it is time to rest for a day or so, fight this sinus infection, and prepare to teach Reading at Summer Acceleration and write Science curriculum.

Blitz 2014--Day 1

Today, we had our first Blitz Day of the year.  Everyone, who teaches 7th graders, did a Writing lesson, and everyone, who teaches 8th graders, taught a Math lesson or a Reading lesson. My coworker and I created the lessons, prepared the materials, and got everything distributed in advance.  The day went well, teachers even enjoyed the lessons, and we got a little more practice in before next week's testing.

We have done Blitz in the past, but it has focused on Science and Social Studies for 8th grade.  This year, our principal wanted to add something for all tested subjects.  We have never done anything of this magnitude for these content areas, so it was a learning experience, but it went well overall.  Every teacher participated this time, and we kept the regular daily schedule and didn't rearrange anyone or create different student groups.

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day isn't that exciting of a holiday for me.  As a child, I enjoyed the little cards and sacks or boxes we used to exchange our cards.  As an adult, I think it is overrated. 

It is crazy enough teaching elementary students on Valentine's Day, but at least there is a specific time for the card exchange and party. 

In Middle School, it is quite different.  The students exchanged bouquets of flowers (some quite large), packages and bags of candy, cards, and stuffed animals (some nearly as large as me) all through the day, whenever they saw one another.  The candy was not put away, but it was eaten all day.  All that sugar plus a Full Moon made for quite an interesting day.

I had the opportunity to teach 8th grade Math during the middle of the day, so I got to experience all of this first hand.  The students were fun and did their best to follow directions.

How did you spend Valentine's Day?

Crazy Work Week and Difficult Day

Last week was so busy, over scheduled, and had me off campus 3 days.  This week, I was on campus more, but it was a busy, busy week.

I have been far less stressed this year than I have been in the past, which is nice.  But . . . the most stressful thing happens first thing every morning.  Checking with the secretary to see which classes don't have a sub and then creating a plan for those students/classes.  Most teachers/faculty do not realize what we do and what all is involved.  The most difficult days are when we have 3-4 classes not covered.  We use all the subs as much as possible, which I am sure makes them unhappy and exhausted b/c they don't get a conference period. Because our class numbers are much smaller this year, we have been splitting classes across content areas as much as possible.  Putting students in classrooms with certified teachers who know the content is better than pulling random people or putting subs in rooms.  This really upsets teachers at times, but we are trying to do what is best with students in the time we have to decide it.

Today was a difficult day.  After our meeting with Central Office personnel yesterday, I was to create a plan for one of our content areas.  I did that. It was a great schedule using teacher strengths and doing what is best for students.  They were asked to consider it, we would talk more next week, and we would implement it Feb. 18th. Instead of the teachers bringing their concerns to me, they became very upset, went to an administrator, and we had to change the plan.  I hope, at some point, they try my plan.  It would be so great for students.

The kids handled the snowy day really well and were excited at dismissal to get out and play.

Here is a picture of what Carly (aka Kitty) did all day as it snowed.  She sat and watched it through the front door.  She also spied a bird or two. (More about the snow on tomorrow's post.)

Crazy Week at Work

Well, we have finished a 4 day week that was just a little crazy.

• At least 2 days involved splitting classes because teachers were out and subs didn't pick up jobs or cancelled. 
• We gave 9 week assessments over two days. 
• Our Science Fair was on Wednesday. 
• My office-mate and I led a Professional Development with our SpEd teachers on Thursday afternoon. 
• We have a push-in teacher starting, so we had to prepare for her.  
• I am trying desperately to find two more push-in teachers specifically for Science, and I am running out of time. 
• On Monday, I begin teaching a 5 week two hour class that consists of 7th & 8th grade Science and 7th & 8th grade Social Studies.  Yep!  That takes some thinking, planning, and prep work.
• I visited classes, met with teachers, answered all kinds of quetions, helped get Science Fair projects back to students, and more.
• I had a great meeting with my principal and one with my assistant principal. There is no need for me to question my job!  Nope, not at all.  It is so nice to be/feel supported.

There was so much work for only 4 days!

To get it out of my system and to get ready for the weekend, I went to Curves, did the 30 minute circuit, and then rode the stationary bike for 30 minutes.  The screen is broken, so I couldn't see how many calories I burned or how many miles I went, probably 5 or 6, but I did it, and that is all that matters.  Here's to the start of a relaxing weekend!

Science Fair 2014

This afternoon was our annual campus Science Fair.  At my school, all student sin GT (Gifted and Talented) Science and Pre-AP Science are required to complete a Science Fair project.  I ask our teachers to get the students started in October, have due dates for the different parts throughout the fall, and then take up the projects a few days before our campus Science Fair.  We had around 10-14 different categories this year.  The judges tried to give 1st-3rd for each category, but that wasn't possible for all categories.  We can send 20 projects to the next level where they compete with students from the surrounding counties.  That will occur on February 15th. 

It makes for a long afternoon/evening for me.  We have so many projects with no place to display them, so we organize them in the cafeteria for judges, who I reserve, to judge after school.  This can last anywhere from 3:30-7:00.  (I provide snacks and drinks for our volunteer judges.) This year, the judges were finished by 6:30, and then two helped me move all the projects to the teachers' rooms or the library b/c the cafeteria has to be cleared out by morning.  We put all those earning ribbons on display in the library to be taken home by Friday afternoon. 

We had some neat projects, but I'm so tired, I can't remember specifics.

Teachers, Subs, and Questioning My Job

I don't have research on this, but in my experience, other than days when teachers are out for Professional Development, teachers miss more days due to illness, their own or a family member's, and take more "mental health" days when they are not happy in their job.  Right now, these are colliding at my school.

With a new Principal, new Assistant Principal, and second year of the other Assistant Principal, we have seen a lot of change this year.  All change for the better.  Systems are either being fixed or being put back in place.  Accountability is happening.  We have had changes in some positions already this year--as soon another secretary is hired, everyone in the front office will be new (except our phenomenal Principal's Secretary).  Teachers are being asked to step-up and do their jobs or do them better than they have been.  With all the changes, accountability, and systems, teachers are stressed, crunched for time, and finding it much easier to be negative than positive or to do what's best for our students.  It is not easy working at my school and teaching our students, but our students need to get a great education and realize there is a way out of the situations they are in right now.  It can be done.  We need teachers modeling for, teaching, and loving them.  There is so much negativity and griping that we have this core "cancer" pulling everyone down.  People are unhappy.  They want out, but they either can't find another job or are waiting until the end of the year.  The more stress teachers feel, the more they don't want to be at work, they more they call in.

This time of year hits everyone hard with Strep, the Flu, Bronchitis, colds, and so much more.  Teachers are out b/c they are sick or their children or a loved one are sick.

No matter the reason for being out, we are short subs. Every day last week, we were short 1-2.5 subs.  Decisions have to be made about how to cover those classes.

It isn't just that teachers are out.  We completely understand illness and that things happen, but the teachers have to leave their rooms ready for the next day.  Work, directions, and sub information (schedules, seating charts, rosters, etc.) must be left on desk tops before leaving every day.  It would also be nice if the desk was left in such a way that it is easy to find paper and pen when needed.   Whether or not we have subs or not, classes are being left unprepared and messy, making it quite difficult for anyone trying to work in that room or assist the teachers/subs to be able to do a good job.

The misconception in the building is that it is my job, along with my co-worker with the same position, to cover classes when teachers are out and there aren't enough subs.  That is not my job. I can help, but it is not MY job.
1.  I have been told by several people that b/c of the funds that pay me, I cannot cover classes b/c that involves different funds, and if anyone found out about this, we could all get in trouble.  (That wasn't the best explanation, but I know what they meant.)
2.  I have a job.  My job is multi-layered, involves a long list of things daily, and a lot of what most teachers probably don't realize.  If I'm constantly pulled to cover for missing subs and teachers, I would not get MY job done, and then other things would not get done across the building/curriculum.
3. If students are split into other content classes, they are going to get a better lesson.  Those teachers know the content, where they are in the curriculum, and can assist the students the best.
4. I assist people all over the building, cover for ARDs, attend meetings, and more, and it isn't always feasible for me to be in a classroom.

Twice in the last two weeks, that I know of (it was probably far more than that), comments were made about me and my job.
1. When I created a meeting agenda for Department Chairs to follow on our Professional Development day, one teacher felt I was "justifying" my job by doing that and giving it to them.  Really?  I don't have to justify my job to anyone.  Period.
2. After spending a week splitting classes every day, a teacher questioned if I ever cover classes.  Yes, I do, but not every day or even every week.  It completely depends on the class period, the day, and what is on my daily agenda.  I have huge things coming up, and I can't be in a classroom all the time.

Bottom line is that we need teachers to be at school unless it just cannot be helped.  We aren't a business where you can put work off until tomorrow.  Our jobs involve humans who must be supervised when in the building on the 177 days they are required to be at school. If teachers have to be out, they must have something for their students to do, and if they are prepared before they leave every day, it would be easier on everyone.  Also, if teachers do not want to be there, they need to resign and move on.  Let us get someone in there we can count on day in and day out so we can educate our students.

Secret Santa

I LOVE participating in Secret Santa!

I just realized that I didn't take pictures of any of my Secret Santa gifts.  This year, as we gave our gifts, we were to put a clue about ourselves.  I did a terrible job with the clues about myself.  I loved the clues the person giving to me wrote, and she kept me guessing all week.  I had no idea who it was right up to the unveiling.

Each day, she gave me a glittery ball ornament with a clear, glass ornament filled with "snow" and made to look like a snowman head wearing earmuffs. Throughout the week, I got 2 bottles of Coke Zero, a package of cashews, hot chocolate, candy jar with candy canes, a snowman coin purse, two snowman kitchen towels, Taco Bueno gift card, breakfast burrito/orange juice, and more.  Great gift ideas!

I gave my person a family picture frame, Christmas ornament that holds a picture, Christmas socks, necklace with earrings in our school colors, kitchen Christmas hot pads and towel, Santa salt/pepper shakers, creamer shaped like Santa, stacking mugs to look like Santa, her favorite drink from Sonic, kettle corn for the microwave, glittery cup with lid/straw filled with chocolate, bag of notepads and colored pens, and chips/salsa and a gift card from a Mexican food restaurant.
In turn, she gave me a Sonic gift card and two flameless candles.

Last Day Before Christmas Break

Our students had a half day again today.  Do you know what it is like to corral students before Christmas Break the week of a Full Moon and with weather changes, rain starting, and barometric changes occurring?  If you don't, you should give it a try!  Ha ha!

We had specific lessons planned for all students around our school positive behavior plan, and I think the day went fairly well.

After all the students left, we had our faculty Christmas Party and Secret Santa gift exchange.

Almost the Last Day for Students

Today was a half day for students, and teachers stayed full day to have Professional Development after lunch.  It dawned on me today that at the middle school level, we don't have school/class parties. In the elementary world, students gear up for Winter/Holiday/Christmas parties, and they are so excited.  We don't do that.  I wonder why.  We weren't testing.  Some teachers used the day to continue teaching their content.  Some classes had a little celebration for how students had done on a district test. Some used the last day before more bad weather hit to do some learning outside the classroom.

Any middle school teachers out there who do have Winter/Holiday/Christmas parties?

Teaching Reading for a Change

Today, our district held Professional Development for all 7th-high school English and Reading teachers. On our campus alone, we had 18 or 19 teachers out for this training.  Some of the ELA and Rdg teachers as well as a few others went to Love and Logic training.  In total, we had 21 teachers out.  8 positions were not picked up by subs, so any and everyone covered classes today.  I had the opportunity to teach 7th grade Reading for 2 periods, and I really enjoyed it.

Everyone has their niche, and I prefer the 7th graders to the 8th graders. I will work with both, but when I have a choice, I choose 7th grade.  I guess it is because they are so much like my 6th graders I taught for years and loved.  8th graders have a few more hormones and a lot more attitude.

The hard thing about covering a class is, like subs, you don't know what you are doing until you walk in the room.  Once I'm in there, I want to make the lesson my own.  Today, I had to tweak a few things b/c there wasn't enough time to finish what was assigned.  I also don't like students to work independently, silently for a whole class.  I broke up the lesson with discussions, which the students enjoyed.

I would go teach Reading again.  I really enjoyed it today.

What a day!

Have you ever had one of those days that you had so much to do that you had no idea what time it was?  You just worked and worked and worked?

My co-worker and I spent all day preparing for campus Professional Development taking place this Thursday afternoon.  We will be having teachers present information they have learned at recently attended trainings.  It is the first time they have led PD like this, so I am excited to see how it goes.  I will be leading one session, so we worked on those materials all day.  Now we just have to make copies and finalize the guiding questions.  I hope the teachers truly take the new information and use it in their classrooms.

I also had to have a very interesting conversation with a student.  One I never imagined having.  Nope, not sharing it here, but it was a first for me.

Another Great Week in the Work World

This was a great, busy week at work!

Monday:
We had the day off today.  Woohoo!  I spent it running errands and getting things done around my house.  Did you know that if you lose the key to your lawn mower that you can buy a new one at your local hardware/lawn care store?  Yep!  It was so easy and cheap.  We thought we might need a new ignition or starter.  Thank goodness we didn't!

Tuesday:
Back to work!  I was supposed to have a meeting off campus, but it was rescheduled, so I worked on all kinds of things at school.  I think I did at least 10 or 11 walkthroughs and put together around 40 magazine boxes to organize Science manipulatives. I covered a teacher while she was in a meeting, so I taught a Resource English class last period.  I haven't done that it quite a while, but it was fun! I finished the day in a Reading Department meeting.

Wednesday:
I did all kinds of things today, including organizing more Science manipulatives and visiting more classrooms. I ended the day leading an 8th grade Science Department meeting.  We used a new format, and it went well.  There was some great discussion around our state standards.

Thursday:
We had a lot of teachers out for some reason.  Two were at Professional Development off campus, but I'm not sure where the others were.  I spent the morning making sure the subs had everything they needed.  I was supposed to cover a Science teacher while she attended a meeting, but she was out.  I ended up covering the Theater Arts teacher for half of one period, all of the next period, and then a few minutes of the last period.  I have no Theater Arts background, and I had no idea what they were supposed to do, so they behaved, but it wasn't quite like I would normally cover a class. I ended the day leading a 7th grade Science Department meeting.  We used a new format, the same one from yesterday, and it went well.  There was some great discussion around our state standards. It lasted longer than they would have liked, but the discussions were great!

Friday:
There were many teachers out again.  At least 5 had subs covering their classes, but 2 were not picked-up by subs.  I ran around all morning making sure all the subs had what they needed, etc. Once they were all settled, I helped a Science teacher with some technology. The rest of my morning was spent helping a teacher and her students with Science Fair, checking on subs, getting some materials to Science teachers, and working on some other things for the English/Language Arts/Reading Department and Professional Development.  I left midday to head out of town for a Literacy Conference.

When a Teacher Is Wrong

What do you do when you know a teacher is wrong but won't admit it?

A friend's child was taught by a first year teacher using an incorrect textbook, probably outdated too.  The child was taught, given a page to label from the text, told to study, and then tested.  On the test, the child labeled the diagram correctly, ignoring the incorrect information taught and labeled.  These items were counted wrong and points taken off.  When my friend questioned it, she was told by the teacher that she referenced the text book, a co-worker, and had given the children the information to study.  She didn't apologize, didn't change the grade, and wouldn't acknowledge that she, the book, and her co-worker are wrong, and everything else found on the internet, other text books, other resources, and the knowledge of three Doctors go against what she says/found.

This is what bothers me:
1. An entire grade level of children was taught incorrectly.
2. The teacher would not admit she was wrong, right the wrong, reteach the students, and correct the grade. She still believes she is right.
3. It is possible an entire grade level across an entire district has learned the information incorrectly.
4. A text book used across the country is wrong.

How would you handle a situation like this?



Side note:  I am sure I possibly taught things wrong and handled situations incorrectly as a young teacher, but I hope with the experiences I have gained that I would handle those situations better now.

Group Work

This weekend, I have heard at least two stories about schools and group work. First, I think it is very important for students to work together.  They need these skills for their futures.  Secondly, I am certain I messed this up early on in my teaching career.  However, I do have a few opinions and ideas.

Story 1:  Middle School (not sure which content)
A group of students was to complete a project (not sure if it was all in school or in/out of school), but one child in the group refused to do his part.  The whole group got a 77 or something like that.  The other parts were fine, but because this one child would not do his part, the whole group received a lower grade.
1.  Everyone who worked was punished for the actions of one.
2. Everone else in the group worked just fine together, but this one person purposely made a decision to not work and pull his weight.
3. The child who did not work was rewarded.  He got credit (a 77 and not a 0) for work he didn't do.
The teacher should have handled this differently.  Yes, students need to work together, but this was not fair or equal.

Story 2: Upper Elementary School (various subjects)
Each week, teachers are assigning projects, rotating which content is covered, for students to do in groups.  Of all the examples I heard, students were assigned a partner, and work is completed outside of school.  The work is assigned toward the end of one week and due early the following week.  It is the students' responsibility to exchange numbers and addresses.  It is the students' and parents' responsibilities to make arrangements to get the students together.  These pairings do not have students together who live near one another and does not take into consideration families' busy weekends.  I have no idea how groups are graded or exactly what these projects are.  I do know that families do not feel comfortable telling the teachers their children will not participate in outside group projects. Because of one pairing, one parent told her child to just do the project so that her grade was not impacted by the other student not working.

Teachers need to teach students their expectations for group work--what roles to take and how to complete them.  This needs to be done through group work in class.  Grades should reflect the work completed and the willingness to work together.  I used to give my students a specific behavior to work on and for me to grade.  I gave each group a 100s chart with multiples of 5.  Every time I had to correct the group, I took off 5 points (You could also do this by 2s.)  The students worked on one behavior each time.  There was a grade for the behavior and a grade for the assignment.  I also had my students complete a reflection form for their group work.  This allowed them to tell me things I may have missed when working with another group.  They could even assign a grade to each group member, but they had to support their rational. They loved it.

We have to find ways to teach group work but not punish students when someone else struggles with the expectations.

Feeling Educationally Thankful

We have now been back in school with students for two weeks, and while I have not personally heard serious, down right frustrating griping, I sense it.  I know it is happening.  My co-worker has heard it. I can read people's faces, feel the stress in the air, and just know that teachers are stressed, frustrated and more.

Part of me is grateful teachers don't gripe around me, and I am glad I don't know what they are specifically saying about me.

My role has changed this year.  It is finally what I thought it was going to be when I took the job two years ago.  Don't get me wrong, I have gained experiences and enjoyed parts of what I did the last two years, but it wasn't the day-to-day job I thought I was getting. Now, I attend planning meetings for all content areas.  I get to go back to my ELAR and History roots and recall concepts, topics, and ideas to help those teachers. I attend Team meetings to assist teams with tasks focused on the 130 students assigned to each of them. I am working with teachers who need a few ideas, support, or assistance. I am observing students to help teachers come up with ideas to get students back on task or under control so everyone in the room can learn. I am supporting new teachers who might otherwise be on their own (like I was my first two years of teaching). I do walkthroughs, which will assist teachers instructionally, which will help our students be successful.

While I have not heard with my own two ears any griping about what I am or am not doing, I know that this role bothers people. I believe they are questioning why I am in and out of their rooms, and they are probably worried I am taking all I see and hear straight back to our Administrators.  Well, all I can say is that they should come talk to me. 

My main goal: Help teachers be the best they can be so our students can learn and be successful. The first week, I went in and out of classrooms just checking on teachers.  Not checking up on them, just checking on them.  It is rough starting a year, especially with the changes they are experiencing, so I was just checking to see if they had questions or needed anything.  Now that the year is moving along, I am seeing if anyone needs help with things I know our Administrators are looking for when they are doing walkthroughs.  I can help with the expectations posted on the board. I can help make a lesson more engaging. I can help with content a teacher may not quite understand. I can help with a disruptive student. I can find a new strategy to use. I can support a struggling teacher. Again, my role is not to get teachers in trouble or to be negative; it is to help and support. 

My role is to help however I can, but I do not give bathroom breaks or cover classes for teachers to make copies, run errands, or do things they need to do before or after school or during lunch or Conference time. It is not my job to clean out and straighten storage areas that I did not mess up.

The griping, stress, and negativity I know is spreading through the campus is not good for instruction or students. I remember there was a point in my 4th year of teaching that I had to make a choice.  I was struggling with a situation in my class and I was in a new grade level. I was negative all the time.  I remember the very moment that I said to myself that I had to make a change and be more positive--even if I didn't feel like it. From that moment on, I had to find the positive in the day, the moment, the child, the situation.  It changed my life and my teaching. Whenever I start feeling overwhelmed or negative, I have to stop and make myself think positively.

There are changes taking place on my campus, and if some of the teachers do not make a purposeful change in their attitudes and become more positive, their year is only going to get worse.

The changes taking place are not any different than any great campus would do normally.  The expectations and procedures being put into place this year are what most teachers think of as normal, and those teachers probably wouldn't understand why teachers on my campus are struggling or griping. I am so grateful to have had wonderful administrators while I was in the classroom. The Principals and Assistant Principals were strong, had high expectations, and could lead teachers and students to do and be their best. I may have been a pain or immature, but I learned from each of them. Eva McKinney, Treva Franklin, Becky Reidling, Daron Aston, Valerie Nelson, Jeni Piepenbrink, and Leigh Kovalcik put up with me, led me, and molded me into the educator I am today. It took me leaving the classroom and working with other amazing, strong administrators for me to see and understand what I do now.

I will continue with my positive attitude and assisting teachers.  Our students deserve it.