Hidden talents

The text came in about 2:30 in the afternoon while I was getting ready for car duty.  "Mrs. ______ called and needs someone to come mow their lawn. Since you are on call this week, can you do it?"  "Sure," I said.  It was only the second time I had ever received a request while on call as a deacon, and although I didn't recognize the name, was thankful for the opportunity to serve.  When I got home, I loaded my mower and weed whacker in the truck and, using Google Maps, easily found the house. The husband met me at the door. I knew who he was as we had talked at church, but I had not spent a lot of time getting to know him.  He told me that the lawn was getting too hard for him to mow and his grandson, who usually does it, was off at college.  His wife invited me in. We talked briefly before I set out to tackle the task at hand.  Due to recent rains and wet ground, it took me about an hour to finish the small yard.  

When I was done, I knocked on the door to let them know.  Again, they invited me in and asked me to sit at the table and talk a while.  After accepting their offer of a Coke, we chatted about their grandchildren and great grandchildren (almost 30 of them combined) and when they discovered I was an educator, we discussed school and the wonders of children.  After a few minutes, the husband said, "I'd like to ask you a question?" "OK."  "Can we sing for you?" It took me a second to process what he had said.  "I'd be honored," I finally replied, not knowing what to expect.  The husband left the room and returned with a guitar.  After tuning it, they began to sing in perfect harmony, looking into each other's eyes the entire time.  They serenaded me with "Wine into Water" and "Seven Spanish Angels."  My eyes almost filled with tears as I watched this couple, both in their 80's, give a gift with me that money could not buy. They shared their talents.  

Afterwards, I asked the wife if she had been singing all her life.  "No," she said.  "People used to tell me I couldn't sing and I believed them."  They were wrong and I'm thankful she finally figured that out.  

As I was driving home, I thought about the kids that I work with every day.  How many have talents and abilities that I know nothing about?  Do they feel safe enough with me to share those hidden talents when the opportunity arises?  When they do, will I respond in a way that builds them up and causes them to want to share with others?  

I was blessed that afternoon with a new perspective on people.  Now, as I see kids and teachers in the hallway, I often wonder, "what is their hidden talent?" Hopefully, I will get to find out one day. 

x

EdCamp Leadership

Today, July 11, 2016, was EdCamp Leadership day.  Leadership EdCamps were held simultaneously around the country.  I was able to attend EdCampLeaderTX at Bellaire High School in Houston.  For those unfamiliar with EdCamps, they are educator driven professional development focused on meeting the specific needs of the attendees.  In fact, the agenda is not developed until participants arrive and provide suggestions for sessions based on their specific interests.  There are no speakers or vendors, although educational companies do support the events by providing door prizes.  Learning for the day is organic and conversations in each session are driven by the participants with the help of a facilitator.  Anyone can suggest ideas for sessions and anyone can facilitate a session.

Edcamps are, from my own experience, one of the most beneficial forms of professional development for three reasons.  First, only people who are truly interested in learning and growing take the time to attend.  Second, anyone can share in a session, providing multiple viewpoints and ideas.  Finally, you are not required to stay in a session if it doesn't meet your needs.  You are welcome to follow the "law of two feet" and move to another session.  Throughout the sessions, participants are constantly tweeting their learning.  If you are interested in viewing these, follow the hashtags #EdCampLdrTX and #EdCampLDR on Twitter.  You can also see session notes by visiting edcampleadershiptx.com. 

During today's EdCamp, I attended three sessions.  The first was on choice in teacher professional development. Principals and teachers discussed how to help educators take control of their own learning while still meeting district mandates.  The second was iPad apps for the classroom. In this session, we shared apps that had worked for us. One of the focuses of this session was how to use sites and apps that were not designed with education in mind to help meet the learning needs of students.  And, the last was on connecting classrooms globally which included some time sharing with an EdCamp group in another state.  

The final session of the camp was an App Smash where participants shared some of their learning and, of course, door prizes.  I actually won an Ipevo document camera.  But, more importantly, I left energized and ready to get to back to work helping teachers and students. 

In order to attend today's EdCamp, it took a six hour drive (roundtrip) including leaving the house before 5 am to beat Houston traffic.  Yet, the long drive was a trifle compared to the learning and connecting that occurred during the course of the day.  And, I wasn't even the person that came the farthest.  We had a person from Ohio take a day out of vacation to join us.  This says a lot for the power of EdCamps.  But, more specifically, it says a lot for the power of educators when they take control of their own learning and don't wait for others to initiate PD for them.

If you have never attended an EdCamp I highly recommend going to one.  It will change your perception of educator professional development.  Follow this link for a list of upcoming EdCamps. You can also visit the Edcamp Home page for more information.

Tending the garden

Last week, I planted a tomato plant.  Actually, I planted two as a meager attempt to get back into gardening.  As I was putting them in the ground, it occurred to me that, as an educator, my job is very much like gardening.  I don't mean that it's dirty work, although that's sometime true.  Instead, the work of an educator is like tending to the seeds in a garden.  If you've ever planted a garden, you know that the first step is to prepare the soil, often removing weeds and tilling up the good dirt.  You might also add fertilizer.  Then, you make your rows or mounds to ensure the plants have room to grow.  Third, you plant the seeds in the soil and water them.  After that, the next few days or weeks are spent watering the seeds and watching as they grow.  Over time, after continued watering, weed pulling, and pest killing, you can finally collect the harvest.  If you don't do these steps, chances are the plants will either not grow or they will not bear fruit.

In the same way, the children who walk into our schools and classrooms are like the plants in a garden.  Some are seeds, just waiting to sprout.  Others are already in various stages of growth and need our help to keep them on the right path.  Some have come in with soil preparation already underway.  Others are trying to grow in a patch of weeds. Some receive water every day.  Others are still waiting for someone to turn on the hose.  Some are healthy and bearing fruit already.  Others are stunted.  Some are in perfect soil.  Others may need to be transplanted to grow.  The funny thing is, on the outside, they all look like kids.  It is our job to build relationships strong enough so that we can see where they are in their growth. Then, like a gardner, we have to provide the necessary support to help them grow.  That support will rarely be the same for every child.  Some will need more time and effort to grow than others.  Some might not even sprout during their time with us.  It doesn't matter though.  Each one can grow. We must choose to never give up on them, but keep nurturing until they finally grow into the people they were created to be.  

Summer Learning Boxes (Fighting the Summer Slump)

As a district, one of our main areas of focus this year has been to slow the loss of learning that routinely occurs during the summer months.  Often referred to as the "summer slump," this loss results in a large amount of reteaching in August and September, a time when students are excited about learning and that could be better used to teach new knowledge and skills.  We've explored several options, most notably year-round school. While we already have a summer program in place that allows children to stay involved for an extra month in June/July, this does not reach all kids.
What we needed was something that would have the potential to affect all students as well as keep parents involved in the process.  This spring, the district tasked each campus with coming up with a means to help kids practice their skills over the summer.  Secondary campuses are using technology and LMS such as Edmodo to meet this goal.  The lower campuses, including our primary school, have gone with something a little less high tech, but hopefully just as effective: Pizza boxes (Thank you Pizza Hut) filled with summer activities and school supplies to do them with.

These personalized Summer Learning Boxes, as we call them, are filled with at least 6 books on the students reading level, language arts and math practice activities and games, and writing tools and journals.  Instructions for parents are included as well as a checkpoint sheet that helps them keep up with their child's activities.  At our level, we ask students to do the following each week: Read at least one book, do one packet of math practice/games, and write in a journal supplied in the box.  They are welcome to do more, but that is the minimum.  We have scheduled three checkpoint weeks during the summer when parents can come in and let staff check their child's work.  Each time they come during a checkpoint, they are entered into a drawing for a gift card.  To help parents and students, we created instruction videos and posted these to YouTube.

Kindergarten Summer Learning Box 








1st Grade Summer Learning Box 

How will we know if our Summer Learning Boxes are effective?  Last week, each student took two skills tests in reading and math.  We also have each student's end-of-year DRA reading level.  At the beginning of the new school year, student's will take the same tests again and scores will be compared.  It is our hope that we will see little to no loss in skills over the summer.

Will every student take full advantage of this summer learning opportunity?  I wish that were the case, but realistically we all know that some will do very little and some nothing.  Still, many will use their summer boxes effectively.  In the fall, when we have compared tests scores and look at our checkpoint data, I expect that those who took advantage of this learning opportunity will show minimal loss over the summer. Plus, they will still have plenty of time this summer to just be a kid.

In the Wake of Tragedy

(This was originally posted on 5/4/2016 on my personal blog, When I Wonder)

Saturday morning. 8:00 am.  My alarm had not gone off, but I was already waking.  For some reason,  people had started texting around 7:30 and the familiar ding kept going off in the background. The night before, it had rained harder than I had ever seen. I later learned 7 inches had fallen in 45 minutes.  As I slowly rose, my hand automatically went to the phone.  As I read the first text, my heart stopped.

The text went on to tell the names of the kids.  Immediately, I called my fire fighter neighbor to confirm what were at this point rumors.  He not only confirmed, but told how he had found one of the children.  Things went into something of a daze.  Four children, two of whom were at my campus, had drowned. I knew one of the other two and the grandmother as well.  I immediately began praying for their family as my mind conjured up images of these beautiful children.

One of them, a kindergartner, would give me a big hug every time I went into her classroom.  She wore her hair in ponytails and always smiled. Her 1st grade brother was even closer.  He had a rough start to the year and I saw him almost every day.  Our team worked long and hard with him and finally he was not only progressing, but experiencing success in the classroom.  During the rough times, we would sometimes take walks through the building, talking about whatever was on his mind.  Other times, we would just sit in my office in quiet solitude until he had calmed down enough to return to class.  He played football.  I found out late in the season and made it a point to go to a game.  It was there I discovered he was the star running back.  There is nothing quite like watching 1st graders play football wearing helmets that are almost as big as they are.  As the year progressed and his behavior improved, our interactions became less common, but I would still stop by his class to say hello and give him a hug or a high five as I told him I was proud of him.

It was 9:00 am and, feeling overwhelmed, I gave into my son's requests to drive around and look at the damage.  We quickly discovered a row of businesses that had been flooded as well.  Taking my wife home, my son and I decided to go and see how we could help.  The area where my students lived was in chaos, so we chose to spend several hours helping clean out a restaurant.  Later, I went back to the children's neighborhood and offered my assistance.  By this time, most of the families had the big things out of their houses.  I visited with several families who recognized me from school but feeling as though I was in the way, I returned home.

The next afternoon, after church, I went to the campus and met with the admin team as we worked out a plan for Monday morning.  After everyone left, I finally walked to both of the kids' classrooms.  Upon entering each, I broke down.  These were the first tears I shed, but not the last.  As I looked at the empty seats, it hit me that these two little ones I had spent the better part of a year with were not coming back.  I was thankful no one else was in the building as I broke down that afternoon.

Monday was a blur.  Our school counselor visited with each of the children's classes while I coordinated outside counselors and connected them with kids.  We had asked our other teachers to talk to their classes about the tragedy.  Most were able to, but a couple just could not get through it.  I stepped in at their request and talked with the children about the events of the weekend as we discussed what death meant.  I worked hard to help the children realize that it is okay to be emotional (sad, angry, hurt) while reassuring them they were safe.

It is amazing how resilient kids can be.  By Tuesday morning, most of our 5 to 7 year olds were back into routine.  Teachers were (and are) still struggling.  That is to be expected. Tuesday night was our annual Art Show and the focus on preparing for it also kept many from dwelling on the sadness we were experiencing.

Today (Wednesday) I had the chance to go to the neighborhood and help with cleanup. People had sacked up many of the belongings from the house and we carried them to dumpsters.  It hurt knowing I was throwing away these beloved children's things, but it was also a step in bringing closure.  We then went and worked on the house next door, tearing out sheet rock and insulation.  After most people had left, I went back to the children's house and walked around inside, silently praying as I thought about the times they spent there.  More tears flowed freely.  Outside, I discovered a memorial set up by neighbors and just spent time meditating in front of it.

When children die, there are always questions.  I have plenty myself, but I don't expect answers.  As a Christian, I know that God is in control even when everything else seems to be chaos.  I also realize that there may have been human error that helped exacerbate the flooding resulting in these deaths.  At the same time, tragedy can result in good.  Our community is coming together to support each other in a way that has not happened in a long time.  Only time will tell the final result.

Perspective is everything

A few weeks back, we had a fundraiser kickoff where a salesman came and spoke to all of our kindergarten students as a group. The kids came in, sat on the cafeteria floor, and listened and laughed during the presentation.  They oohed and aahed at the prizes being offered and played along with the salesman's antics.  When he asked for quiet, however, several continued talking with their friends and teachers had to intervene. This disturbed me because I know our kids can do better and we had been practicing how to behave when we have guests.  I was shocked when, as the salesman was packing up, he told me this was the best kindergarten group he had worked with in a long time.  When I pressed him for details, he shared that he usually spends most of his time just getting kindergartners quiet, especially after the exciting parts of the program.  Our kids, he told me, were excited at the right times, but got focused when they needed to.  Being that this is my first year with kinder, his perspective helped me see that our students may be doing better than I realize.  (By the way, 1st Grade was marvelous at the next presentation.)

This is not the first time this has happened.  In my first year as an administrator, I was put in charge of the cafeteria where we had to feed close to 800 students in three 30 minute shifts.  We had a system in place, but I never felt that it was the best it could be.  To me, there was too much movement, especially as we were cleaning up, and the room was often too loud for my taste.  One week, we had a substitute custodian who rotated among districts.  About the middle of the week, he approached me to tell me how much he enjoyed working in our cafeteria.  I thought, "Good gracious, why?" In his perspective, this was one of the most organized school cafeterias he had ever been in.  "In most places I work, the kids are constantly getting up, are turned around talking, and they usually leave a mess.  Your kids don't get up until it's time to put up and they clean up after themselves. It makes my job easier."  After that day, I started to view the cafeteria a little differently.

When we are in the middle of a situation, our perspective can become skewed, often towards the negative.  Sometimes, it takes the perspective of an outsider to shed light on the positives that are all around us.  Does this mean that we should stop trying to improve?  Of course not.  It does mean, however, that we need to invite other perspectives and allow ourselves to celebrate the positives while working hard to reduce or eliminate the negatives.

(By the way, this can also work in the opposite direction, when we think things are going great, but others do not have the same perspective.  We need to listen and learn in both cases.)

Observation Day

Recently, I've been doing a lot of formal teacher observations.  Throughout the year I do multiple short walkthroughs (though never enough), so I already know what to expect.  The formal is really putting icing on the cake and an enjoyable learning experience for me.  It always surprises me when these mostly veteran teachers share with me how nervous they are during observations.  Maybe it is because our district does not allow for prior notice, but I think it is just a natural reaction to being observed.

As I reflect on my own classroom experience, I remember that I usually enjoyed being observed.  It wasn't that I relished an audience (though that is partially true), it was more that it gave my students a chance to show off.  As a Science teacher, at least part of each class was lab-based and my observer would rarely just sit.  More often than not, they ended up interacting with students just as I was and became learners themselves.

Still, knowing that someone can enter the room to observe at any time means that you have to be on your A-game every day, every class, every lesson.   Pondering that thought made me realize this important truth:  Teachers are observed every day.  Not by administration, but by children.  Young faces are watching our every move and determining if we are worthy of their time.  They are judging the lessons we deliver and making decisions about whether they will learn what we present.  There are future teachers in our midst who may be developing their own style based on what they see in us. Whether we like it or not, what we as teachers do every day is on display.

So, let's treat every day as observation day.  It will keep us on our A-game and let us do what is best for kids.