Ready or Not

So I am moving to Southern Middle School, beginning a new chapter in my educational career. I have to laugh at that line, because "new chapter" sounds profound, but I think educators make changes in their careers more frequently now. Gone are the days when a teacher began and finished his/her career in one school, or even in one grade or program. Now I hear about teachers changing grade levels, changing content areas, going from special education to general and back again, or moving into administration and back to teaching. I think change is a good thing, because it keeps teachers fresh and professionally stimulated. If our minds are not engaged with new learning and experience, how can we engage our students' minds?

So now my blog has to move on, to new topics and purposes. I want to continue to write and to hear from readers. As a career changer, older teacher, I know the value of shared experience.

So I am going to start writing as "In the Middle", and look at issues of middle school instruction. I assume its a different ballgame from the high school issues I'm used to. I assume it's different from the preschool concerns I used to face. I don't know enough about elementary education to comment about those differences.

I don't know much about middle school education, grades 6-8. I'm excited about this new venture, and I am beginning a self-directed learning program to increase my educator's expertise.

I'm also moving into a leadership role as department chairperson for Special Education, while teaching two classes. So I'll also be "in the middle" as I find my way between the school administration and the faculty.

In this blog I will communicate my new pedagogical thoughts, my lesson planning, and my experiences moving to a new school and grade level, and serving as a department chairperson. I hope you'll share your responses with me.

Posted by at 10:38 AM | Permalink | 9 Comments | Recommend

Joy to the World, 'tis the season for celebration. I know it's not the winter holidays, but it is holiday time for educators. We're celebrating the end of our year.

First of all, let me tell you about the Prom, with gorgeous girls and handsome boys and smiling administrators. Our Senior Prom was a great success. No one got sick in the bathroom, no one was obviously under any illicit influences, and no one broke up loudly with their date. I felt pretty good in my new dress. The sad note -- Laura, my fellow Class Advisor, lost her father the week of Prom and couldn't come. I missed her a lot that night, and grieved with her at the funeral the next day. My daughter Katie and two of her college friends came to help, and they were the key to success. They put up decorations, hung balloons, passed out glowsticks. They kept me calm. They kept telling me how wonderful it all was. It was wonderful. Joyful, even. A celebration.

Next came our graduation -- 470 graduates outdoors on an extremely hot night. It was a lovely ceremony, even dignified, except for the beachballs students managed to blow up right under our noses. It was joyful for our graduates and their families, and for myself and Laura. We celebrated the end of our Senior Advisor responsibilities.

Now it's the end of the school year, and students and teachers are joyful. Summer is here. I am joyful, too, although my happiness is tinged with a little sadness. I'm changing schools. I was asked to apply for a position as department chair for special education. I accepted the job at a middle school in my hometown. So I'm leaving Arundel High School.

My new school assignment is closer to home. In fact, it's my home middle school. My son attended it back in the '90's. Some of the children I cared for as babies may be in that school now, or will be soon. It's like coming full circle.

That's education for you. Just as I thought I was figuring it all out, the plans change. But as you should know now, I value new experiences, and believe that everything comes together with meaning eventually. I'm finishing the first season of my educational career at Arundel High School, and looking to the next at Southern Middle School. My memories at one are joyful, and my anticipation of the next is equally enthusiastic. After all, its the season for celebrations.

I hope you're celebrating another successful year. Be joyful!

Posted by at 6:21 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

The other day I took a walk at home. My neighbor saw me and said, “Haven’t seen you much lately.” Without thinking I answered, “I haven’t seen myself much lately either.” A moment later, standing on a pier looking over the Chesapeake Bay, I realized what I had said. I haven’t seen myself much lately? Did that mean something on a deep subconscious level?

I have been busy. I came to high school teaching at the age of 45, after several other careers. I jumped in with both feet – committees, projects, graduate classes, conferences. I have looked for every opportunity and welcomed it. I have worked really hard and I have learned a great deal. I have been busy, and it’s been good.

But I wonder if there comes a time when too much professional involvement is just too much. So let me ask my colleagues – you – how do you temper your enthusiasm with realistic limitation?

To keep it in perspective, let me share this with you. It’s Senior Prom Week, and I am one of the Senior Class Advisors. I’m worrying about prom favors, and guest registration, and decorations, and music play lists. I have a long list of “to-do’s” and people to contact. I have learned one really important thing from this involvement. If another teacher or staff member offers to help, say, “Yes thank you!” That’s a lesson I can use if I do ever become an administrator. Always say “yes” if you get an offer of help, and always say “thank you”.

I’ve also learned to prioritize. If you do what’s most important, everything else will fall into place. I bought my prom dress. It’s floor-length, black, and sparkly. I found black sandals yesterday - had to get new shoes because my “teacher flats” weren’t very glamorous.

So I’m done looking for myself. Every time I walk into a classroom I know who and where I am. Yes, with everything else, I am first of all responsible for teaching, and I know it. I’m here to guide learning, because it is about the children. Same for Prom, it’s about our seniors and celebrating their four years at Arundel High School. When I remember that, then I know where I am.

I am still looking for the perfect tiara for my dress, though ….

Posted by at 5:35 AM | Permalink | 15 Comments | Recommend

I think every teacher spends Sunday evening thinking about the upcoming week. We plan for lessons, meetings scheduled, copies to be made, grading papers we didn’t get done this weekend. But this Sunday I’m thinking back on last week. It was a hard one, for several reasons. But this posting isn’t about me. It’s about one small success I experienced with my students. It’s about that thing that brings me back every Monday morning, ready or not.

I think my students learned something.

I teach four different classes of freshman English. One of my classes is a self-contained special education class. Three of the students are repeating the class, and all have learning disabilities or conditions which affect their rate and degree of comprehension and participation. I truly like them all. Every day brings a challenge which keeps me eager.

All freshmen, as part of the introduction to William Shakespeare, have to write an original sonnet. They choose the topic, and I help them mold it to the correct form of three quatrains, one couplet, and iambic pentameter. I have a love/hate relationship (to use an oxymoron as per Shakespeare) with this assignment. The students start out saying, “I can’t do it”, and I wonder if they will. But by the end all the students do it. It is such a great experience for them.

So one student, a tenth grader, began writing a sonnet about playing football. He isn’t a highly able student, but this year he seems willing to try. He got two quatrains down with my direct help, but just couldn’t make the third one work. So I typed up his draft and asked him read it to the class.

Objective for the lesson: Students will review the sonnet form by helping James fix his original work through discussion and revision. As soon as he read it aloud, students started telling him what was wrong. “You don’t have ten syllables”. “The EFEF rhyme scheme is wrong”. “Your meaning gets lost halfway through.” I was thrilled – they were actually applying acquired knowledge without my direct prompting. It took ten minutes, ten peers, and zero teachers to help this young man revise his sonnet correctly.

The best part? James had never before (at least in my class) shared work that he had written. He looked so proud. I believe all the students were proud that they had helped him. Their eagerness to do so taught me a lesson. By letting the students teach each other, they taught me.

I can’t wait to mail the finished product home to his mother. I can't wait to see those kids walking into our classroom.

Posted by at 9:08 PM | Permalink | 2 Comments | Recommend

I am not a “new” teacher any more, this being my third year at Arundel High School. And I am certainly not a “young” teacher, this being my 49th year of life. I began my education career through a career-changer program. I figure I’ve got twenty years left before I’ll retire, so now I’ve got to decide what to do with those years. If the paths diverge, which one should I take?

I’ve enrolled in an administrator certification cohort. At first I thought I would NEVER want to be an administrator, but now I’m not so sure. I’ve been active in school committees, attended seminars and summits, talked to our district’s leaders, and read a lot of current literature on the future of America’s schools and America’s school kids. I could be part of shaping that future.

We who entered education from other careers have a lot to offer that hasn’t been tapped in our school positions. For example, as a child care provider, I became an early childhood specialist. I am not “certified”, but I know a lot about child development. I’ve worked with babies who had developmental delays and children who were gifted. I’ve worked very closely with families who needed childcare – the wealthy and those who used government vouchers to pay me. I worked with childcare professionals across the state, and I have good connections with those who get our children ready to learn. But my high school and school district don’t know that, and don’t use my skills in this area.

As a business owner (of the childcare business) I learned the importance of organization, and planning, and efficiency. When you work alone you are efficient. Materials are organized and available when and where you need them. Files are current, and needed papers are ready for use. If you need something, you get it. Meetings are scheduled in advance, and much is done by telephone rather than by face-to-face committees. When I had a question, I knew someone to call and ask. A business owner is a problem solver. I am frustrated by the lack of business-like organization I deal with every day in my school. As an administrator, could I help solve these basic problems? (Which copier is working? Where do I get a cord for my computer? Which phone line can I use to reach a parent? Where are transparencies? Why can't I have the books I need for my students?)

I bring a history of community involvement to my new career. I served my neighborhood association as an officer. I know how to write letters and make phone calls to find information and solve a problem. I can pull a group of people together to create an event or a task-force. But I don’t have time in my school to be an active link to the community. My school is not where I live, so I don’t even KNOW this community. So this skill is not used.

I’ve also been a writer, published in local newspapers and of course, on-line. I can write a mean newsletter, letter, feature story, survey. I’ve taught adults, through the community college, and know the difference between classes for preschoolers and workshops for career people who want something to take home and use now. So should I become a staff development trainer? An education writer? Volunteer to write the school newsletter?

The skills I have developed in past professions may translate to my life as an educator, but I haven’t quite figured it all out yet. Perhaps as an assistant principal I could bring it all together. Or maybe I need to move to the “central office” as a mentor, or resource teacher. I am a good teacher, and maybe I belong in the classroom for the next twenty years. If only I could afford to do so. If I want to retire with a livable income, I have to increase my income. Sad but true, I don’t think I can afford to be a classroom teacher for my whole career.

Several people have told me recently that it’s important to have varied experiences as a teacher in order to keep all options open. Is it time to move on to a different school assignment? More on that later this week as I think it through. Which path? Don't know yet.

Posted by at 6:40 AM | Permalink | 33 Comments | Recommend