Feeling Respected

I went on a little fall hike over the weekend. I looked down on this wall of rock, and here was this little magical garden growing. I loved the contrast and complexity and the improbability that life would be there on a rock. It caught my attention, or I paid attention. Either way I gave it a little value. This is how I think being respected feels.

Of course I can go on forever about what disrespect feels like. The late Rodney Dangerfield made a lot of money with that schtick. But respect is so much more subtle and enduring.

Just yesterday I felt respected by our literacy coach. (You rock, Judi!) It wasn't that she did anything huge. She gave me time. She listened to me. She was not judgemental. She appreciated the complexity of the situations I described. She respected me. We talked. She suggested. Nothing was solved, but I felt respected.

This makes me think of how respect isn't this huge fix everything bandage. It's more about being acknowledged. How do we respect ourselves? Our family? Our coworkers? The people and children around us?

Building Background and Vocabulary

I feel a certain sense of obligation when someone makes a suggestion and it works to pass it on. So get ready, because here's the pass. . .

Most elementary students lack the background knowledge and vocabulary to fully understand what they are reading, even fiction. (This is not surprising to anyone who works with kids.) My literacy coach watched a lesson in my class of a first read where it was so obvious kids didn't get it all. She suggested bringing nonfiction books on those topics.

This is how it worked the first time out--we were reading Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say. I went to the library the weekend before and got books on topics like: California, Japan, Japanese Immigration, Japanese Internment Camps, World War 2, and Song birds. I listed those on the board and asked students to think about how these would relate to our story as they listened. After the first reading by me, I passed out one book to each 2 or 3 students. I gave them about 10 minutes to scan and discuss how it related to the story. Each group reported out in just 1 sentence.

Then the books were in a basket in our class library, and one center was looking through the books and finding 2 interesting facts to display on post-it notes. I was very pleased by the results in background, vocabulary, and research. I plan to use this strategy frequently. Any suggestions? How do you build background knowledge?

Inspiration vs. Procrastination

After a sunny and warm weekend I arrived at school this morning more prepared for a Monday than usual. So what was I to do with my time? Well, it wasn't going to be all the stuff I've been avoiding!

I've observed something interesting about myself: I let all kinds of little ideas, tasks, and inspirations crowd my time so I don't have to do things I don't particularly enjoy--grading, locating extra practice, etc. There are even tasks that I enjoy, but they take a lot of energy (i.e. writing friendly letters to my students or planning for my parent class on reading) so I avoid them.

Am I alone in this? I doubt it! How do you balance the inspirational parts of life with the tasks you would rather procrastinate?

No Time For Book Recommendations

Sometimes I pressure myself about a book to recommend--Friday's coming, think of a book. Not this week! After almost a week of wet rainy weather the sun was shining and the skies were blue.

I left school today with a lighter load than usual for a Friday, and I headed to the woods with my little family. It was delicious and luxurious. We strolled. We ran into a friend who took our picture. We saw dogs and scampering squirrels and ducks and airplanes painting white lines on the blue skiy.

Sam wanted to touch every tree and most stones. And he watches everything, observing, soaking it in. It's hard to imagine that I was once like that, but it feels a little closer when I'm with him. And the pressure melts away. At least for a few moments.

Stay tuned as there will be some young book recommenders sharing their thoughts on books in the weeks to come.

Respectful Teaching

I'm feeling internal conflict about myself as a teacher. I want to do cool involved hands on learner centered projects and activities, but I need to have some resources left over at the end of the day for myself and my family and the world outside of school.

That struggle has really got me thinking about what does respectful teaching look like. I think it's balanced--not all quiet or all noisy. I think it considers the needs of the teacher as well as the needs of the learners. (This is a new one for me!) I think it accepts imperfection from both parties. I think respectful teaching is always striving for better, not perfect. I think respectful teaching steps back and lets the learner make mistakes, question, and accept responsibility for wise and unwise choices. I think respectful teaching has a positive twist, but spends time in the shadows, too.

The bottom line is that respectful teaching is a complicated and lonely path. It's hard. It's living in the gray, when everything in the profession is supposed to be quantifiable. I think there is always going to be a tug of war, but I want to learn how to embrace the struggle, instead of being afraid I might lose the war.

These are some ways I'm embracing respectful teaching this week:

1. Writing a letter back to every student in correct letter format to which they will respond.
2. Giving myself permission to not meet with reading groups this week.
3. Talking to every child about their choices around behavior, talking, and self control.
4. Accepting the imperfection of running 6 experiment stations in science.
5. Beginning to plan for student led conferences in 4 weeks.
6. Digging myself out from under the filing, forms, graded and ungraded papers.

Play * Practice * Learn

I'm inspired by Fall! Today is the first day of the new Fall Dream Lab! I'm absolutely inspired by this, and it's not too late for you to sign up for a good personal boost! It's all about courage and gratitude and tribe.

I always see the words play, practice, and learn on their web page.

It got me to thinking and inspired me to focus this week on practicing. I'm practicing compassion for myself and exploring what that might mean when I'm behind on doing my job.

I also want to talk to my students and focus our week around practicing. Instead of being frustrated when they are disrespectful, we will practice respect. Instead of wondering why they don't turn in their work, we will practice turning in everything on time. I think that little shift is going to one of those small things that makes a big difference! Stay tuned for updates.

Board Books Are Not Boring

I live with a 20 month old, and like any parent my reading habits have changed. I'm the kind of reader who slowly savors a book. I can't remember the last time I've savored a full grown up novel, but I've read more board books than any one person should read. (Board books are those books made for little kids with really thick pages.)

I've seen more that I've loved than I've ever imagined. I've even seen some books that really are great for older kids. Today I'd like to recommend one of those that is hanging out in my house right now.

It's Catch Picasso's Rooster by By Julie Appel and Amy Guglielmo It's one of a series of books that have famous pieces of art and then some tactile object. The rooster has a red feather over his comb. The back pages have descriptions of the art and artists.

Online I've even seen lesson plans for using this book and then giving kids prints of art to add items to make it their own.

I think it's a fun way to bring fine art home. There is a warning that little kids could pull off the pieces and choke. All I can say is that Sam loves this book, and he wants to share the fun with anyone who comes to our house.