Reflections

The second year is light years better than the first, but still not without problems.  I know I’m still learning about management.  I am still facing problems, but this time I am able to recognize the problems before they get out of control and focus on fixing them.

These Are Problems I Can Handle

It helps that I’m only having one problem at a time.  Last year I had dozens of problems piled up on each other.  It was hard to focus on one thing because there was so much happening that needed to change.  This year I’m actually able to address the behavior issues in a logical way.

They Were Noisy When I Wasn’t There

A few weeks ago, we had a problem with noisy behavior in the cafeteria and specials classes, and after a few discussions and lots of role playing, reminders, and some accountability, we are again under control.  They have now had good behavior in the cafeteria for three straight weeks, and the specials rooms are no longer deafeningly loud when I pick them up from a specials class.

They Ignored Calls for Attention

In class, my students were falling into the habit of ignoring me when I called for attention.  To call for attention I count down from four to zero.  I started a marble jar- ten marbles whenever the class has all eyes on me by the time I get to zero.  That’s the only thing we get marbles for.  After a few days, the class became nearly perfect when I called for attention.

Long Bathroom Breaks

A little after that, the bathroom breaks began to take too long.  I knew some students were playing around in the bathroom, taking too long and being too noisy.  I dealt with it.  For one day, we didn’t get a bathroom break at all.  The next day, we had a discussion about behavior in the bathrooms.  I timed the break and it only took 6 minutes for everybody in the class to use the bathroom and be back in line, quietly.  I wrote the time on the board  and complimented them on how well they did.  The students understand my expectations and are working hard to meet them.

A Chatty Class

The current issue is that the students start conversations whenever I’m not talking.  When I tell them to clean up, they talk while they clean.  When I ask them to get out a book, they talk while they do it.  It’s a familiar issue that dominated the classroom last year.  This year, though, I know that I can trust them to stop when I call for attention.  I know that the tone of the classroom is much better than it ever was last year.  I know that I am the one in control this year, not my students.

On Monday, I’m going to deal with the issue of talking too much.  I will make my expectations clear.  I will enforce consequences for students who don’t follow my directions.  The students will change their behaviors because they know I mean what I say.

To first year teachers- go ahead and look forward to the second year.  It really is better.  Not perfect by any means, but a hundred times better without a doubt.

Recently, a parent asked about her student’s performance.  I used data to guide the conversation.

Together, we reviewed the student’s assessment results.  That information made the conversation about facts instead of feelings and guesses.

We specifically discussed where the student is academically.  Using the data to guide the conversation showed her that I am aware of her student’s high abilities and that I’m differentiating her student’s instruction to her student’s level.

Keeping my student assessments organized allowed me to quickly grab the data I needed for the impromptu meeting.  Last year I kept student files in my filing cabinet.  It didn’t work for me as I never caught up with my filing.

This year, I’m using an idea I got from a first grade teacher at my school.  I use a big binder with a tab for each student.  I record assessment scores on a page in the front of each student’s section.  I keep assessments and parent communications in the binder.  I also add student work.  This means that if I ever need student work samples, parent notes, or test scores, they are all in one place.

This isn’t to say that all parent communications should be based on data.  It’s still important to listen carefully and talk about ideas and feelings.  But data can add another layer of information that enhances the discussion.

Are They Learning or Am I Just Talking?

During the last two weeks I’ve been trying to take the spotlight off myself and let my students drive more of the learning in the room.  I need to back off and let my students learn things more than just give them information.

I’ve given them too many definitions.  It’s not enough to just tell them what something means.   They have to come up with the definition on their own to really understand what something means.

So I’ve been using more guided questions and having longer class discussions.

What is an animal?

One of the major science concepts is talking about the definition of an animal.  Most of my students think an animal is something with four legs and fur.  Lions, cats, dogs, and hamsters are animals.  To some students, frogs, turtles, spiders, snakes, crayfish, and birds are not really animals.  People are absolutely not animals.

My initial urge was to define animal and tell them what animals were.  I squelched that urge.  I asked my students to give me ideas of types of animals.

They gave me a long list.  It started with small furry animals.  Eventually somebody included a bird.  Some kids disagreed and we discussed it.  The class decided that a bird was a type of animal.

We kept adding animals and somebody said a turtle was an animal.  The class was split in their decision on the turtle.

So I asked them to tell me what all the animals have in common.  Somebody said, “they’re alive.”  I agreed that was true, animals are alive.  So then I asked if we could add a plant to the list of animals.  They all said no, and somebody said that animals can move.  I put that on the list of what defines animal.

Somebody else said animals eat food and drink water.  The class agreed with that.  Somebody said animals have fur.  But another student pointed out that birds don’t have fur, they have feathers.  So fur stayed off the list.

I asked about the turtle again.  Are turtles alive?  Do they eat, drink, and move?  The students discussed and decided that a turtle is a type of animal.

Student Success

The discussion went on for a while and we eventually had a good list of qualities that defines animals. Animals are alive, eat food, drink water, move, can make noises, and live in a habitat.

It’s not exactly the list I would have written to give them.  But it’s something I’m prouder of than anything I could have written because the students arrived at the definition through their own discussion and debate.  They used higher order thinking to decide what an animal was.  I was more of a guide than a teacher.  Now they all know what an animal is because they built the definition themselves.

Disappointing my students

The 3rd grade science curriculum requires several animals for studying life sciences.  The delivery dates of crayfish and bess beetles were set.  My class got ready for the animals a few days before delivery.  They set up the habitats and we discussed the organisms.

Then things went downhill.  The day before the crayfish were to be delivered I got an e-mail from the district.

Apparently there was a problem with getting crayfish and they couldn’t be delivered.

My principal authorized me to buy some.  I called several bait stores and pet shops and discovered that crayfish are banned in Arizona.

Apparently there are too many in our lakes so they are not allowed to be sold or transported.  Even if you catch them in the wild, you can’t transport them away from the lake alive.

I freaked out thinking about telling my kids the crayfish weren’t coming after all of their hard work setting things up.  And I was right to feel bad.  My kids were really disappointed when I told them.

They came in that morning excitedly asking where the crayfish were.  I broke the bad news to the class first thing and they were subdued all day.

It’s not fun to disappoint your students.  But being frank and truthful is the best approach to dealing with bad news.

Collaboration rocks

Sometimes great things come out of frustrating situations.  My colleagues saved the day with their helpful advice and generosity.

I spoke with my friend Ms. Bloom about the life science standards.  She explained that if my students could study the structures, behaviors, and adaptations of animals, we would meet the standards.

So I decided to find another animal to study.

A wonderful fifth grade teacher offered to loan my class her turtle to study.  She even moved the tank to my room.

Later, my principal offered to buy hermit crabs.  I’m taking her offer and my students will research and compare the needs of hermit crabs to the needs of the turtle.

What a wonderful community of educators I work with.  I’m not isolated in my classroom.  There are so many fantastic people in this with me.  They care about me, my students, and the curriculum.  I am so grateful to be a part of this profession.

How do you decide you’re close enough to done?

The first day of school was last week and I didn’t finish my to-do list before class started.  It was long and I kept finding things to add to it.

There were unexpected meetings and tasks the week before school that took time I planned to spend working in my classroom.

As the week went on and my time left got shorter I started prioritizing the items on my list.  I realized I couldn’t do everything.  But everything didn’t need to be done to be done enough for Monday.  My focused goal became Monday.

On Saturday, my work was purely about making the room ready for Monday.  Any projects left out that weren’t needed for Monday to be a success were put in bins and the bins went in the closet.

Did I meet my ideal goal?  No.  But I finished what needed to be done to be successful on Monday.

A fantastic first week

What an improvement from last year.  I’m feeling confident that things are off to a great start.  I set procedures and expectations to a level that will make the entire year better than last year.  I’m being very firm and consistent.  It’s paying off.  My students are quiet and eager to please.  They follow my procedures carefully.  I hardly recognize my classroom this year compared to last year.

Every time I start to think I should let up and allow a little noise to pass unchecked or one broken rule to go unnoticed I think about last year.  I think about the worst days when the principal walked in and winced at the noise level or the days when I cried after the students left.  Those memories strengthen my resolve and I stay consistent.  Consistency was a huge challenge for me last year and this year I am determined to fix that.

It is very hard for me to be consistent

My urge is to give extra chances and reminders.  But clearly that urge didn’t work well last year.  So this year I keep reminding myself that my consequences aren’t bad.  They will not damage the students.  All they will do is reinforce my expectations and make the year easier and more productive for everyone.

The surprising thing is that because I am so fast and consistent this year with giving my first consequence, which is a warning, I have not had to give another reminder.  So far no students earned the second consequence, a ten minute time out.

Once I write that tiny “W” for warning on their behavior slip they stop the behavior.  And the other students take note too and become even more focused themselves.  I know the students will start testing the limits more next week. But this week they simply didn’t act out.  Why wasn’t it this easy last year?

Procedures are making it all work

Compared to last year, I established very structured procedures to start this year.  Harry Wong says that rules are made to be broken but procedures are just how something is done.  My students are proving that to me this year.

Last year I had lax procedures.  I figured that as long as everybody was reasonable we would be okay.  It didn’t work out like I thought and the class was off task more than I was comfortable with.

They were also too noisy.  Not that I’m opposed to noisy work just because of the noise.  I’ve observed successful classes that are louder than my class ever was.  But my classroom has an internal connecting door and limited sound proofing with another classroom and so when my class is noisy it unfairly impacts the students in the other class.  I don’t want to do that.  So staying quieter is one of my goals this year.

To help keep things quiet I thought through all my procedures well in advance of the first day and focused heavily on improving and streamlining transitions.

I have clear procedures for how we get our homework, how we enter the room, how we move to the rug, etc.

I taught the procedures to the class with clear instruction and modeling.  We’ve been practicing all week.  I’m praising them to the point of gushing and taking pictures of when it’s done the right way.  Students love the positive reinforcement of having their picture taken while they are doing something correct.

I will review everything like it’s the first day of school on Monday for extra reinforcement.  In a few weeks, hopefully, we will have it down without thinking about it at all.

This class behaved better in the first week than I think last year’s class ever did.  I’m sure some of it is the new mix of students but I also know that my focus on procedures and being consistent with my rules is a major factor.

It is hard and long (but good) work

Each day this week was at least a 14 hour work day.  Pretty excessive, I admit.  But it’s worth it.  I refused to leave until I completely set up the classroom for the next day.  If I’m fully prepared the students are never waiting for me to be ready, like they did too often last year, so they don’t get distracted and lose focus on academics.  I think (hope) the time commitment will relax as I get into more of a routine for my new processes.

The first day

Tomorrow is the first day of school for my students.  The room is all set up and the lessons for tomorrow are planned.  I have a short to do list for the morning but I am ready to start.

I’m more nervous this year

I think it’s because I know what I did wrong last year and I really don’t want to make the same mistakes again.  It’s stupid because I know I will make a lot of mistakes.  I will even make some mistakes multiple times.

This year I’m more prepared physically.  My room is set up beautifully and I’m more organized than last year.

Last year I had boxes of unorganized stuff shoved under my desk and under a few tables because the closet was full of other stuff.  This year all my unorganized stuff fits in the closet.  Furniture is placed more logically than last year.

So the room is much better.

But mental preparation is different.  Although I am optimistic about this upcoming year I don’t believe that all will go well.

Last year I was too sure of myself and believed everything would fall into place pretty easily.  I’m scared of making dumb moves that will make this year just as hard as last year.

Last year everybody said it would be difficult and I didn’t completely believe them.  I was surprised by how hard it was.

This year everybody says it will be much easier, but still difficult.  So I’m scared of the hard parts because I don’t want it to be harder than I’m prepared for.  I want to be good at this.

I am also worried about the students and their parents.  I have two students who are younger siblings of kids I had last year.  I’m worried that the parents might have a bad impression of me or that they might be confused by some of the differences in how I do things this year.  I’m worried that the kids will come in with the impression that I’m a funny teacher who lets the class get away with too much.

You don’t need to be perfect

The closer I get to tomorrow the more worry is overtaking me.  I’m excited, and I want to meet my students, but I keep thinking of things that I have to make sure to do tomorrow.

I can’t keep letting myself think that the first day will set the whole year in stone.  I know that it sets the tone but I can always adjust if I do something wrong.

I did a lot of that adjusting last year.  Adjusting works.  The last two months of the year were really good and I just have to remember that a mistake isn’t the end of the world.  Fewer mistakes would be better, of course.  But I can’t let myself get worked up over being perfect.  It just isn’t possible.  Worrying over impossible perfection is worse than making a mistake in the first place.

The summer is coming to an end and my second year as a teacher is about to begin.  Already I am noticing differences from this time last year.

I’m talking a lot more this year

I have been working with my grade level team a lot this week and I am discovering that I suddenly have a lot more to say!  Last year I was really quiet.  I spent most of the grade level meetings either listening or asking the occasional question, but this year I feel like I’m actually contributing.

I am confident sharing my ideas because I know my opinion is valued by my team members.  I know that I can ask questions, make suggestions, or disagree with something, and it will all be listened to and considered.  My opinions actually have the same weight as the more experienced teachers.  These meetings are making me feel very lucky to be a teacher at my school with my coworkers!

The big difference from last year is that this year I have a sense of what the entire year is going to look like.  I know where we’re headed so I feel safe making suggestions about how to get there.  I can already tell that this year will be a really good one.

I’m prepping my room in a purposeful way

My classroom is coming together well.  I’m working just as hard as last year, but this year it’s all work with a purpose.  This year I know how I want stuff organized.

Looking back at last year, I know I wasted a lot of time simply because I didn’t know what to do with everything.  I had a hard time making decisions and changed my mind a lot.

This year I sat down and made a long to do list of specific tasks.  I have slowly been checking things off.  When I’m in my room I am able to focus on a specific job instead of being overwhelmed and flitting from task to task.

I’m so excited!

The more work I do the more excited I get about the first day of school!  Between the long term planning time with my grade level and the ever increasing organization of my room, I am feeling extremely optimistic about this upcoming year.

I can’t wait to meet my students and start off the year.  I want a chance to practice and refine all of the changes I thought about last year and over this summer.  This year is going to be so much better, and I can’t wait for it to start.