Tuesday SOL: Why does it have to be like this?

I am participating in the
Tuesday Slice of Life.
All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day.

A big thank you to Two Writing Teachers for providing this unique opportunity

for teacher-writers to share and reflect.

We're entering into the tough part of the school year, that time period in the very middle of the year, when so much fatigue has set in. There is so much to do and there simply isn't enough time to get all that needs doing done. I call out a "good morning" to colleagues first thing every day, but we are quick and perfunctory with one another; there is little opportunity to collaborate or share because everyone is so busy with their own never-ending list of must do's.

We had professional development this past week, and I wanted desperately to be working in my own classroom, getting work done. I work alongside a novice teacher, and as she begins to lead more, taking over more of the daily responsibilities, my need for time to meet, plan, review, discuss, and reflect grows exponentially. A short while into the workshop, I had that uncomfortable sensation of not being fully present; I was in two places at once. I challenged myself to listen. I am, typically, a "good student" - usually very much on-task.

Would you believe me if I told you that the speaker was engaging?

As a general rule, I love workshops, I love learning new approaches, hearing about the latest research. However, this just wasn't something I personally would have signed up to do with my time right then, because I am struggling to complete so many other things...I have other priorities. These priorities don't go away or even lessen as a result of this professional development.

I decided to step back and observe a bit, to give the situation a writer's eye. I looked around the room at my colleagues and took notes on what I saw:

- One, furtively scanning her phone, with a furrowed brow, looking tense, worried, or tired, or perhaps all three...

- Another, totally checked out...what I must have looked like just a moment before...eyes glazed, face tilted down, a mile away in his thoughts.

- Two colleagues were whispering together, very, very quietly...probably not about the lecture, right?

- Still another, typing madly on her computer, in the midst of the lecture, clearly not engaging with the material of the professional development, but in all probability getting something done on her to-do list.
- Several colleagues that I had seen earlier in the day were not even in the room...early departure? Doctor's appointments? 

- There's another colleague, feet drumming on the floor, fingers tapping on the table, is she listening to music? I can't see any evidence of earphones...maybe it's one of those wireless sets...hmmm.

Why does professional development have to be like this?
What is it about these sessions that makes them feel so tone deaf much of the time? 

How can so many of us be this detached from the lecture? 

If this were a classroom, wouldn't the teacher realize that the students were off-task and something is not working right?
Why are we learning about this right now?

There is always so much put on teachers, and increasingly little wiggle room or flexibility to think for oneself.

sol17-26 Why did I make room for that in my head?

I am participating in the
Slice of Life Story Challenge (SOLSC).
All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day, every day of March 2017. 

A big thank you to Two Writing Teachers for providing this unique opportunity
for teacher-writers to share and reflect.

I am really thankful for this year's writing challenge - it seems to have catapulted me out of my writer's block. Although I have sliced with Two Writing Teachers for six years, by this fall I was rarely participating in the weekly slicing. I was not quite sure what to write. My blog had more or less come to a standstill. 

Why did I start having trouble writing posts? 

Awhile ago, an administrator asked me not to publicize my blog with families of my students. Mind you, I began writing this blog about early childhood long before I began working at my current school and, over the years, the families of my students were an ideal place to find readers, leading into conversations about real issues in early childhood. This administrator challenged me about the blog's existence, saying that this blog was not sanctioned by the school and did not represent the school, and that I should be very, very careful about what I write. 

It is true - this is my blog, filled with my thoughts, ideas, opinions, reflections, questions. It is entirely mine. It is not a school blog. It is my outlet, my writing, my pastime.

I don't agree with or understand this administrator's perspective. Why not embrace and welcome teachers to write, think, reflect outside the classroom? 

I took extra steps to make my posts more anonymous. I no longer share with families or colleagues that I write a blog. I went quiet. For awhile, this worked fine - I wrote. Then I started writing less. And less. And less. Even without agreeing to this administrator's perspective, I made space for it in my head. Doubt crept in. I began to question -  

should I be writing?

is there any value?

what is my point?

There you have it -

a negative voice,

leading to

a boundary,

a wall,

a block,

a boulder,

stopping much of my writing,

leaving me

stuck,

blank,

empty.

Then along comes the March writing challenge! The reality of saying yes to this writing challenge: I don't get to wallow, I don't get to be blocked, I simply must write.

All my questions have fallen to the wayside. Now I am wondering, why did I make room for that negative voice in my head? There will always be plenty to write about.

I hope I can hold on to this writing habit after the challenge. 

sol17-9 What about videos?

I am participating in the
Slice of Life Story Challenge (SOLSC).
All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day, every day of March 2017. 

A big thank you to Two Writing Teachers for providing this unique opportunity
for teacher-writers to share and reflect.

Once a week, our early childhood team (two classrooms each of pre-K 3, pre-K 4, and kindergarten) meets together, while all our students are at specials. This year, we began a practice of sharing videos of our classroom practice. Here's how it works: one classroom is in the spotlight or "hot seat" for a two week period. Meeting/week number one, the lead teacher provides a short videotape of a lesson and asks for feedback from the rest of the team. Each of us reviews the videotape before the meeting. The meeting is spent giving "glows" - what stood out? what are the highlights? what did we love? what is working? and "grows" - what questions do we have? is there something we didn't understand? what changes would we suggest? After this first meeting, the same teacher returns to her classroom and takes a second video of the "new and improved" lesson, attempting to weave in some of the suggestions and feedback received from the team. Week number two, we meet again and have a "glows" and "grows" discussion for the second video.

I am amazed at what we learn through this sharing. I feel as if I have been given a window into my colleagues' classrooms, seeing them in action, witnessing their kind and caring approaches, watching how they work with different personalities. Our conversations have been so positive and enriching. It helps enormously that we all enjoy and respect one another, and that we all are open to sharing and improving our practice. Every time we meet, I take away something new and meaningful for my own teaching. 

We all know: teaching is an action verb - there is no singular way, it is never quite done, there is always more to think about.

Over the weeks, we are all shifting and growing our practice. We are having deep, thoughtful discussions. It is very exciting!

I love this teamwork!

Tuesday SOL: A poem about in-service days

This is a Tuesday
Slice of Life.
All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day. 

Check out the Two Writing Teachers website for many more reflections on teaching.

Overwhelmed

Cold water, yes, cold water

after so many gentle days

walking,

visiting,

snacking,

napping,

loving

Cold water, yes, cold water

welcome and know

new staff,

new spaces,

new technology,

new frameworks,

new approaches

Cold water, yes, cold water

read and absorb

agenda of the day

student lists

curriculum packets

math and literacy data

accreditation process

Cold water, yes, cold water

imagine and create

new norms

restorative practices

beginning routines 

Cold water, yes, cold water

so many moving parts

interrupted thoughts

long lists of to do's,

racing time

Cold water, yes, cold water

remind yourself

you saw it coming

When you expect cold water

it is refreshing,

exhilarating,

releasing

the dust, 

the aches,

the sleep

Soak up

these in-service days

Soak up 

the new year

Soak up 

the sense of possibility.

Tuesday SOL: Project Zero - not your ordinary summer professional development

This is a Tuesday
Slice of Life.
All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day. 

Check out the Two Writing Teachers website for many more reflections on teaching.

I spent last week at WISSIT, Washington International School's Summer Institute: Connecting DC Educators with Project Zero Ideas. The following quote is taken directly from WISSIT's promotional literature about the institute and provides a good summation of this thought-provoking week:

The institute invites educators to reflect deeply on how they design and facilitate enriching, rigorous learning opportunities for their students. A “Day at the Museums” on Wednesday, August 3, will highlight the ways educators can use museums as powerful sites for learning. The week-long experience includes both large and small group sessions, each addressing the following strands:

• Building a Culture of Thinking: How do we help learners develop dispositions that support thoughtful learning across school subjects? How do we effectively create a culture of thinking, in classrooms and school-wide?

• Educating for Global Competence: How do learners demonstrate global competence? How do educators ensure that learners in their charge explore complex issues of global significance through multiple perspectives?

My head is full from all the rich learning I experienced and I am very excited about the school year ahead. In the spirit of wonder, I thought it would be fun to share my reflections through questions. 

How do we build a culture of thinking?

How do we grow the learning?

How do we slow down and allow children to dig deeper?

What will we notice if we slow things down?

What language do we use to encourage thinking?

What if we routinely asked, How do you think we might? What might be some possible solutions?

What makes you think so? What do you see?

What subtle shifts can I make in my language to have the mind be more open?

Am I rescuing children or encouraging initiative?

How long do I give children to respond before I jump in?

When do adults listen to children?

Who is doing the thinking? 

What if classroom discussions were more collaborative?

What is the possibility of giving children something new and meaningful?

What is a powerful learning opportunity?

What is the purpose of the work we ask of children?

When do children get the opportunity to listen to one another? to try other approaches? to make sense of something?
What is an effective listener?

How do children learn?

What is the difference between doing a whole lot of work and having a lot of learning?

What happens when you align beliefs with actions?

What if we started with student's passions and questions and built our curriculum from there?

How do we provide opportunities for children to struggle, to grapple, to figure something out?

How are children being pushed?

How are children expected to extend their learning?

What happens when children have the habit of communicating their thinking?

What does it mean to be a citizen?

How do we prepare children to be globally competent?

Why is it important to consider varied perspectives?

What does perspective-taking feel like?

What if we invited children to be in conversation with one another?

What if we teach children to reflect on their assumptions?

What is the untold story?

How do we share the other story?

How much risk do we take in teaching?

What are we modeling for students?

When do teachers take the learner's stance?

What do we focus on when we observe classrooms?

What learning is visible?

Where do we see learning taking place?

What if we slowed down and noticed the details?

What if we did reflection instead of assessment?

What is my image of the child?

How will my teaching grow and change this year?
Where will this thinking lead me?

What is my take-away?
What are my next steps?
What if I start small?

Tuesday SOL: New school year begins

This is a Tuesday Slice of Life for Two Writing Teachers. 

Check out their website for many more reflections on teaching.


______________________________

The start of the school year.

Summer gone. School begins.

I always, always, always forget that it is going to be like this.

What is the appropriate metaphor?

A predicted storm, shifting the calm weather into wild wind and rain?

The contrast of an idling race car at the starting gate and the fast and furious laps that follow?

The quiet of a house followed by the big surprise party, filled with raucous, loud guests?

Whew.

We are only two days into a week of professional development.

5:30 am alarm.

Out the door to the metro.

New staff, new faces, new names to learn.

A whole new cohort of teaching residents.

Get to know, 

think, 

plan, 

reflect, 

hear, 

review, 

still more.

Working lunches.

Get your keys, your ID photo, your handbook, your binder.

Reflect on lessons and teaching, role play teacher-student interactions - what might you do?

So many "conversations," 

lower school, middle school, special ed, lead teachers, teaching residents.

Get to know, 

think, 

plan, 

reflect, 

hear, 

review, 

still more.

Update vertical plans for literacy and math.

Add details to unit and lesson plans.

Review mission, core beliefs -

what does it mean to learn through inquiry? 

allow student voice? 

be a teacher leader?

Get to know, 

think, 

plan, 

reflect, 

hear, 

review, 

still more.

Was it just a moment ago that I 

was sleeping in,

basking in solitude,

writing with abandon,

making my own plans

for how I would spend my day?

Or was that long, long, long ago?

Only two days in.

Three more to go.

When do I get to prepare my classroom for preschoolers?

SOLSC 2015 #21: What did you learn today?

Each day during March, I am participating in the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Story Challenge (SOLSC). All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day, every day for thirty-one days. My slices will be primarily about teaching preschoolers. Check out the Two Writing Teachers  website for lots more reflections on teaching. Thanks especially to Stacey, Tara, Anna, Beth, Dana, and Betsy for hosting this writing challenge. 

*******

A professional development day, 

following our hugely successful Learning Showcase event on Thursday night, 

yesterday was one of those days when I felt that I was riding a roller coaster, 

up and down, 

up and down, 

up and down. 

I had my notebook out all day long, always in pursuit of the proverbial slice, and I think what unfolds is fascinating. Here are snippets of the roller coaster:

Joy. Touring the classrooms, extraordinary work by students - third grade poetry books, kindergarten portraits, preschool mobile, middle school camping trip reports, second grade habitat, first grade persuasive letters, pre-k journals, fourth grade artwork, more. Student voice is stronger than teacher's. How to capture what we are doing in our classrooms? How we do it? School blog?

Tense discussion. Let's agree we do not all know everything. Let's trust in one another, communicate openly, have confidence we're doing good things.

Deliciousness. Lunch provided by families. Need recipes for chana masala and chocolate chip cake....

Wrestling with scheduling. Think about children. We ask children to answer to a lot of people every day.

New goal. Paired readings - coupling a non-fiction with a fiction; example, Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar with a science book about butterflies. So many possibilities.

Heartbreak. The story can display taken down hurriedly by someone overnight, and all the children's precious found objects swept into, mixed up into, a few cans, all the lids mixed up, a puzzle for teachers to solve. How did they miss the import of these small treasures?

Insightful mentoring. Quietness is both a strength and a curse. Which children are most challenging? Don't retreat. Move towards the one who is so difficult and challenging, build that relationship.

Reflection on "A Pupil Points a Finger"

This is a Tuesday "Slice of Life" for Two Writing Teachers. Check out their website for lots more reflections on teaching.

I hope this isn't too "heavy" a slice. I read this article several weeks ago in my Sunday Washington Post Magazine and I can't seem to get it out of my head:  "A pupil points a finger. The teacher gets fired, his life re-routed. Now can they be buddies?" by Marc Fisher.

This article makes visible the complexities of teaching young children. When you teach, you are working with the child, the family, and the administration of your school. There are so many different demands, needs, perspectives. Does anyone really understand all that is happening in a single classroom? Everything that a teacher must consider?

Here is a very personal story about a student and his teacher and a whole lot of hurts.

I keep thinking about this. So - let's write!

Let me begin with a summation of the story:

September 2001,
at a public school in Washington, D.C.,
a 7 year old second grader accuses a teacher of pushing him to the floor.
The teacher is 22 years old, in his second year of teaching.
The teacher is arrested, there is a trial, he is acquitted;
though a civil lawsuit follows, which the city settles with the family.
In 2012, the then 18 year old student reconnects with the former teacher (now a lawyer) via Facebook: "I just want to say I apologize for everything that happened. I would really appreciate it if I could hear back from you." 
Now, 2015, these two adults - the once 7 year old second grader and his former teacher - are now friends.
Thus the subtitle, "The unlikely friendship."

I keep thinking about this.

How are they able to be friends?
How is a friendship possible?

Wow.

Marc Fisher did a beautiful job with his writing, telling the story's facts and letting the reader decide his/her truth from the details. He is objective (as we expect from our journalists, right?) - detailing the story, providing insight, but not placing any blame. I felt empathy for the child, his family, his teacher.

Yes, it is a very personal story about a student and his teacher and a whole lot of hurts.

We learn about the seven year old student,
"His father, Joseph Ware, died when Raynard was 6, choked to death on pepper spray that police deployed against him in a robbery gone bad. The father - a drug user and seller who spent years in prison."

"His mother had three children by three men; Ware is determined not to have any children until he is married, and to marry once and forever. His father wasn't there 'to teach me to be a man.' "

"tagged as a troublemaker in need of special education, he as assigned to classes full of kids who had been labeled slow, disruptive, deficient."

" 'I used to have to punch him in his chest when he was little because he was off the chain,' [Raynard's Mom] says."


Imagine, only seven years old and already so challenged by life itself.

I keep thinking about this.

How is this little guy supposed to concentrate on math and literacy?
Are we teaching the whole child? 
How well do our classrooms support children with fragile emotional health?
Is he the only child in the class from such challenging circumstances?
Where are the school psychologists? The counselors? 
Are we equipping teachers with tools, techniques, and support for the social-emotional struggles of children? 
Does the whole staff work together to support these students?
How do we make the classroom a place that the child wants to be?

I keep thinking about this.

Are we building relationships with the family? 

Do we treat them as partners in education?
How strong is our school community?
How do we build healthy communities?
How do we, as teachers, interact with families that are so challenged?
Do we treat them with equal respect, afford them equal dignity?
Do we help the child and family to feel loved, to trust? 
Where is the family support? The parent education?
How do schools help families with discipline?

We learn about the former teacher,

"an idealist fresh out of Yale who thought he was going to help transform the lives of poor, inner-city children"

"Mr. Kaplowitz's room was, by all accounts, a zoo. Even in a school where nearly every male teacher was accused of grabbing, pushing or hitting a child, Kaplowitz stood out: Six of his 18 students had emotional or learning problems, and teachers, administrators, parents and students knew he was unable to keep order."

"This was the fifth allegation that he had touched a student."

"Raynard asked his teacher for permission to go to the bathroom to get some water, a ploy he had used before to get out of class. He asked and he asked - at least 30 times."

"'I never hurt a kid," Kaplowitz says. 'But I was not a good teacher, and I yelled a lot. I was in the survival mind-set of getting through the day. If there's one thing I try to block out, it's what a lousy teacher I was most of the time.'"


Imagine this teacher, so young and inexperienced, leading this classroom.


I keep thinking about this.


Why wasn't the administration more present?
Who should the teacher have turned to, when things started to spiral in his classroom?
How alone and abandoned did this new teacher feel?
How many teachers feel this way?
Where is the teacher training?How do we prepare teachers for teaching?
Where is the mentoring? 
Does the teacher understand children's developmental needs?
What are signs of traumatic stress in children?
Where is professional development about how to discipline and child development? 
Where is support from colleagues? 
How do teachers learn from one another? 
What opportunities are there to share information and ideas, especially about challenging children?


I keep thinking about this.

Why aren't these students with a more experienced teacher? 
Where are the more experienced teachers? 

We hear a lot about teaching the "whole child" but I can't imagine this ever working unless it involves the "whole school" - everyone investing in children. No teacher should feel isolated and helpless with a classroom of challenging children. No children deserve to be isolated with a inexperienced teacher.



I keep thinking about this,

thinking about the challenges of teaching.
How hard it is to be in community together - teachers, students, families.
So many different life stories,
so many different perspectives,
so many different needs.

This article brought to mind one of my favorite quotes:

"To reconcile conflicting parties, we must understand the suffering of both sides. If we take sides, reconciliation is impossible. And humans want to take sides. That is why the situation gets worse and worse. People who are still available to both sides need only do one thing: go to one side and tell all about the suffering endured by the other side, and then go to the other side and tell all about the suffering endured by this side. That is our chance for peace." [Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hahn]

For me, the extraordinary thing about this story was
the two reconciling parties themselves -
the student, Raynard Ware, and
the former teacher, Josh Kaplowitz.
They seem to be able to suspend their biases, their preconceived notions, their insistence on their own personal truth, and reach out towards one another in peace.
It is an extraordinary thing.
Wow.

Marc Fisher, through his writing, and
Raynard Ware and Josh Kaplowitz, through their friendship,
show how difficult and beautiful this listening to one another can be.


If we really want to improve education,
all of us,
no matter our role -
student and family, teacher, administrator, or policy maker,
all of us
needs to be available to all sides...to listen and hear one another.
To be in community together.
It is essential.

SOLSC #15 Mindfulness Conference

I am posting every day during March as part of the annual "Slice of Life" Challenge for Two Writing Teachers.  Check out their website for lots more reflections on teaching.

*******

Beware the Ides of March!
(I always say this on March 15th.)

I am not fearing today! I am attending a Mindfulness in Education Network Conference at American University this weekend - yesterday, today, and tomorrow. After day one, I can report - it is awesome! Obviously, no real time to process it all just yet...but I'd love to share some of my notes and get you thinking, too.

Yesterday's sessions were run by Parker Palmer's Center for Courage and Renewal. The umbrella title for the day was "Courageous Schools: Teaching and Leading in Tough Times." There were many provocative discussions.

They shared Parker Palmer's five essential habits of the heart:

1. An understanding that we are all in this together.
2. An appreciation of the value of "otherness."
3. An ability to hold tension in life-giving ways.
4. A sense of personal voice and agency.
5. A capacity to create community.

Are these true in your classroom? With colleagues? With families? In the whole school community?

How do you build the muscle for dialogue and problem-solving?

What makes it possible to see the gifts of students, teachers, colleagues, parents, other? And what makes it hard?

Can we take different perspectives? How can I get your perspective?

In what ways do we, and can we, model in our community of colleagues what we are expecting of and hoping for students in the classroom?

So much to think about! Gotta get over to Day 2 now!

**************

A Story Collage by Ian

     Once upon a time, there was a house. And lived, a metro station over the tracks.  And a monkey! Then I knocked down the metro station. And the monkeys eat you up! The End

Tuesday SOL - What lifts me?

It is Tuesday and this is a "Slice of Life" for Two Writing Teachers.  Check out their website for lots more reflections on teaching.

My early childhood colleagues and I met after school today, as we do each Tuesday, and we spontaneously began sharing about our students.  Each teacher provided a brief overview of specific challenges and then everyone brainstormed suggestions.  It was awesome.

I feel so lifted by my colleagues, each of us excited by the discussion, helping to see each situation with fresh eyes, from another perspective.

Open-ended questions, time for reflection....

What might have triggered the behavior?

What might she be experiencing?

Where was he last year? What was the same or different about that environment?

How does she play with others?

Where do challenges occur - at centers? Whole group? Small group?

What does she love to do? 

How rushed does he feels? 

Is there a way to check in with her in a different way? 

What is he lacking?

How does she interact with her family? Are there similar issues?

What sensory issues do you notice?

Where might he be angry in your classroom? What is permitted? Is there a "safe place" for these emotions, a place for him to go?

Does it take her longer to process information?

Would he benefit from a picture schedule rather than teacher's voice giving guidance?

Could you take her aside and prepare her for transitions? 

What have you done to build trust?

How does he interact with classmates? What are his friendships like?

When does she feel successful?

 My colleagues help me "recharge."

Wonderings from Summer Professional Development

It was not my intention to take a month off from blogging.
But, alas, I did!

So, now I am wrestling with how to begin again.  I am determined not to let the entire month of July slip away without a blog entry.

Let me share some of what I've been up to...

Most of July was spent in professional development.  The highlight was my whole staff's participation in the Inspired Teaching Institute.  This training is intended to be a "shot in the arm" for teachers, to remind them why they chose this profession, to renew their excitement about the art of teaching, to encourage them to be instigators of thought in their schools.  The Inspired Teaching philosophy emphasizes the whole and individual child, with teaching being creatively tailored to meet the unique needs of the students in the classroom, while maintaining rigorous academic expectations for all.  There are no scripted lessons here, no formulaic solutions, no "one size fits all" prescriptions, but, instead, a unique opportunity to work with other teachers, exploring how we ourselves learn and teach, trying new techniques and approaches, making mistakes, and reflecting.   Yes, this was an invigorating professional development experience, one filled with compassion and respect for both teacher and students.

It was particularly delightful that this was "experiential" training - the Institute was taught in the same way that the instructors hoped we would teach our own classes. We learned new and creative practices by doing them together.   The Inspired Teaching Institute comprised two weeks of my July professional development, and I had lots of great takeaway, including:

• The extraordinary value of creating a safe learning environment for students...the need to build a joyful, caring community of learners at the outset of the school year, a place where everyone has a role, so that students feel able to take risks and make mistakes.  

• We watched the bare walls of our training site come alive and bright with our individual work - pictures, stories, diagrams, quotes, and poetry.  This transformation of our personal environment did a great deal to increase our connection with one another, in a very brief period of time.  I have no doubt that classrooms should likewise be built up with student work rather than sterile posters and signs from a school supply store. 

• How good it is for students to be thrown outside their comfort zone, to experience "struggle" and "challenge" in new, lighter ways.   I, who hate being the center of attention, found myself overcome with laughter at my inability to follow a rapid hand motion pattern that was part of a circle time game, thus throwing me into the spotlight time and time again.  Yes, non-competitive and even "silly" games are not just community-builders but confidence-builders.

• Honor different learning styles.  I am going to examine the flow of my day and intentionally structure a variety of sitting and talking experiences with "up on our feet" possibilities.  There are so many great ways to enrich any topic with improv, art, music, and  kinesthetic learning.

• Teach through questions.  Incorporate a lot of reflection.  Ask students - How did you figure that out? Why do you think that is? Get students thinking, puzzling, wondering. 

• There is much rigor in a teacher's planning, a teacher needs clear objectives - but, I wonder, does the student always have to know these?  Isn't there power in the questions that you instigate, the reflection that you cause?

• Teaching is like jazz - yes, you have your lead sheet, but be ready to improvise off of this, if what you have planned is not right for this group, this student right now.  Perhaps the best learning experiences happen when you have clear objectives, goals, and plans, and you know these so well that you can be flexible when something new comes up - enriching the curriculum with unforeseen input from the students themselves.

Perhaps most importantly:

• Teaching is intellectual, physical, and emotional.  Each and every day, remember and take action - What do I need to do to get myself ready to be in the presence of children?

My school is in fact a demonstration school of Inspired Teaching's philosophy - thus, the training was in effect, "preaching to the choir."

There were many other teachers besides us in attendance.  I think about the others a lot.  I wonder what it must be like to receive such upbeat, inspirational training as a solo teacher in your school?  How hard it must be to return to the new school year being the one and only teacher who has had this training experience?  There is tremendous value in our whole staff receiving training together.  We reflected together daily, we spent time later in the month revising our curriculum plans to incorporate what we learned, and we've made plans to check back in with one another throughout the school year, to help one another keep these ideas in action in our classrooms.

Here's to summer, professional development, and collaboration! I hope for great things this next school year, as we continue our work to ensure each child's success.  

SOLSC #24 Pit Stop is When?

[Saturday slice means that I can revise and edit...I posted this at 9am, then went for a brief and much-needed run, where so many additional road metaphors jumped into my head...I knew I had to revamp this a bit....]

Well, yesterday didn't go at all as I expected.

We had a day of Professional Development.  

For some foolish reason, I anticipated restoration, relaxation, reflection - and perhaps early dismissal?
3 pm departure on a Friday maybe?

There was so much.  So much.  So much.

Oh my.

We are a new school, in its founding year, a new public charter school, and it is as if we are careening down a bumpy road with the most unexpected surprises after every turn...
we all know how to drive very well, we all take heed not to wreck, but the road is really wearing us out.

This is the way it has been this whole school year...

you see the road ahead is bumpy, you figure out how best to approach it, 

you believe the road is smoothing out and you are soon to be on the straight and narrow,

when, no, that's not the end, but an unexpected sharp turn, 

with a new obstacle  -

some deep, muddy, sloggy section that you must traverse, or

a huge boulder that you must move out of the way in order to continue, or

a surprise downhill that has intersected with a freeway and lots of other vehicles with which to negotiate as you drive headlong into the road ahead.

Yesterday,
the day after our exhilarating but exhausting family event,
we found ourselves on another downhill freeway,

an extremely full, necessarily complicated day.

Nonstop, racing,
keep control, keep steady,
lock your hands on the steering wheel, eyes focused on the road.

Such unfortunate planning, but no one could see any other way out.
The road is downhill and very, very curvy this next week.
The Charter School Review Board is visiting our school for the very first time. 

Gear up! Prepare! Get your game face on!
Reach into your reserves for the miles ahead.

Yes, yes, yes, you can, race car driver!

Remember, repeat, reflect:
we all know how to drive very well, we all take heed not to wreck.

Saturday, March 31st: first day of spring break.  

This, this, this is where we all make a pit stop for more gas.