Let's Have A Ball!

Let's Go Gamecocks, Let's Go!

Around my hometown, Columbia, South Carolina, the words up above are enough to start a riot.  I have been out to dinner in a fancy place - cloth napkins and all, where this was shouted and the place erupted like a Frat House in the 11th hour and then returned to linen tablecloths and champagne as if nothing had happened.  In Columbia, you "bleed garnet" in honor of our SEC college football team, The Carolina Gamecocks.  It might be the only place where young men aren't kicked out of a respectable establishment for having the word "Cocks" on their hat.  Occasionally, someone wearing orange and purple will creep out of the woodwork in support of our biggest rival, the Clemson Tigers.  I like to think I am proud of both schools for representing South Carolina so well.  However, I won't be as nice on Game Day.  

For me, the return of the school year signifies a new season in many ways.  A tiny bit of chill in the air is welcome after the Carolina heat, new students come into my classroom a little bigger than I remember them from the year before, and my beloved Fighting Gamecocks head to the field to commence a football season full of tailgating, victory, and some of the best teamwork I've ever seen.  

Speaking of teamwork, I have been very active on Twitter recently.  Not as a fan of "The Voice" (ok, maybe a little) but as an educational tool.  I have discovered an amazing network of educators and they have inspired me to make stronger connections with my team in my school!  It's funny that people I don't know have encouraged me to think about my working relationships with people I do know!  A new Twitter friend (@JayBilly2) has even inspired me to help moderate a chat.  If you don't know what that means, it is when you come up with a topic and post questions during a specific time slot and then sit back and WATCH AMAZING THINGS HAPPEN!  I am so excited to work with him.  The best part?  He's a principal!  In the real world, it's hard to find time to meet with my principal because we are both so busy and because there is always that "this is my boss, don't say something dumb" feeling.  But here we are, working together, sharing ideas, and encouraging each other to try new things! 

So... in honor of the 1st Gamecocks game and our collaboration, we invite you to join us Thursday, August 28, 2014 at 10:00 pm EST for #TLeadChat where we will be discussing the viewpoint from the "sideline" (The Coach/Principal) and from the "field" (The Player/Teacher).  

Strap on your helmets, put on your team colors, and join us! Game ON! Let's Go Twitter, Let's Go!!

You Know... "That" Kid

Here we are at the beginning of the school year again and I've already met him. 

You know who I'm talking about.  "That" kid.  "That" one. 

That one who is going to change your whole world.  

The one that will walk in every single day with a smile. 

The one that needs you more than anyone else because he just sees the world a little differently.

The one that hugs you because he loves you and because he knows that that is what will make the difference in his life. 

The one that might get picked on so he has to know you have his back. 

The one that will try but might not pass the test. 

The one that will drive you crazy every now and then but will cry when he leaves your room. 

We all have "THAT" kid.  We might have more than one.  And we get the JOY  of seeing those smiling faces for a whole school year.  We are so lucky that we get to watch "that" kid grow confidence this year, make a new friend this year, or get lost in a new book this year. 

I got to hang out with my new friend today and he has already taught me some things.  When "that" kid walks in Wednesday morning, I better be ready.  We have a lot of work to do so he can remember "THAT" teacher.  I hope I don't let him down.    

What A Pain in My Foot

Bunion. 

If you are anything like me at all, that first word made you shudder.  I can't stand that word.  Ugh.  Typing it was too much for me.  What's even worse than typing it? Yup. 

Having one.  

Look, I fully expected that when I turned 89 my foot would look crooked all over like a question mark and I would resort to wearing Birkenstocks and long flowing purple dresses and drinking herbal tea.  At 89, I wouldn't care about high heels, pedicures, and fun toe polish.  At 89, I would use words like bunion. 

I am not 89.  

What started as a slight twinge of discomfort in my right foot had turned into a "Wow, I must have mistakenly hammered a nail into my right foot last night while I was sleeping" kind of pain.  I am fairly active, despite my healthy (read:fluffy) size and I play tag with the kids, I work out more than once a year, and this summer I even HIKED.  I also have a high pain tolerance.  So, I knew this had to be sort of serious.  However, I still didn't go to the doctor.  Then, I went to the lake and had a VERY GOOD TIME and somehow I forgot how to properly use stairs and I twisted my ankle.  I went, thinking he would wrap it, give me some anti-inflammatories, and send me packin'.  Do you know what he said to me?

How long have you had this bunion? What? Didn't he know how young I am, my chart is right there!

So, now I have a foot doctor.  Again, I went in with the calm and cool collectedness of a young person in her 30's.  I assured all of the assistants that I probably didn't need to be there.  When the doctor came in, I explained to her that we were probably ALL just overreacting.  It was just a little swelling.  I'm sure it will go away.  I'm not even 40.  She did x-rays. 

Not *just* a bunion... a MODERATE bunion.  WILL require surgery eventually. 

Like, when I'm 89? 

Nope, proably before that.  In fact, I can't even do anything now except try to alleviate and not make it get worse faster.  She started using words like orthapedic inserts and nighttime "Bunion Booty" and that is when I checked out.  It was too much for me. 

And then it hit me.  I didn't have this 2 years ago.  It was teaching. TEACHING did this to me.  When I got home, I took a good look in the mirror.  I have gray hair now, seriously, like a whole stripe, not just one random one.  My closet is full of non-flattering clothes that cover every millimeter of cleavage.  I stopped wearing shirts that were fancy because they all have Sharpie marks or highlighter or vomit or Lysol wipe bleach marks on them within an hour.  And all those heels, those beautiful heels with strappy backs and pointy toes just sit there in dust.  Now, I opt for comfortable shoes with a sensible wedge.  That's when I saw it.  My one summer purchase.  A flowy purple dress.  I looked down and there it was, staring back up at me. 

My bunion. 

Pass the tea and strap on the Birkenstocks.  I'm here.  And, you know what?  It's O.K.  I may dress like and have the feet of an 89 year old but I get to play with kids every day and it keeps me young at heart.  You can keep your sexy skirts and heels, I'm going outside to play Octopus Ball at recess.  Keep your bathroom breaks whenever you want, I taught a kid a new word today.  And what is more exciting than laying on the floor and reading with a kid who discovered a book they love?  Nothing. 

I love it and I am here to stay.  I ordered the insert and I got a prescription for sneakers.  Take that bunion.  You didn't deFEET me this time! Now, I just need to run and get some hair dye. 

Nerd Girl

"I'm not really THAT into sci-fi stuff." 

That is a phrase I have said so often and then followed with a story of a sci-fi movie or book that I absolutely loved.  I'm starting to think that the only person I am still fooling is me.

Here's the story:   

Let me share a little bit about my mom.  She was absolutely amazing.  She was kind of a hippie and she always encouraged me to express myself.  

Cowboy chaps to go to the grocery store? Great! Lace Madonna gloves in Kindergarten? You Go Girl!  Glitter make-up in 5th grade? Go for it!  1996, belly button piercing (she HAS to say NO, right?)? Sure, maybe I'll get one too! 

*facepalm*

I remember my friends calling the house and asking to talk to my mom.  She was just cool.  She was crafty and funny and silly and artistic.  She would take us to the movies and we actually WANTED her to hang out.  

But as a teenager, it was really hard to be rebellious.  My 15th birthday present was a tattoo.  (My dad thought it was fake well into the 2000's)

There was one, and only one, way.  She was a sci-fi junkie.  All of it.  Isaac Asimov, Star Trek, Star Wars, Dr. Who, Dark Shadows, Larry Niven, Philip Jose Farmer, C.S. Lewis, The Hobbit, Madeline L'Engle, War of the Worlds, those ape movies... she loved them all.  

So I wasn't gonna.  

That's right. I didn't watch Star Wars, I cringed at late night movies with Elvira introducing them, and I only read The Hobbit because she paid me.    

It was my big plan of rebellion. Finally, I could feel the pain of all the other youth of America.  I couldn't be a true artist without some sort of parent sob story and this was mine.  

One problem... this stuff was good.  Have you ever even seen Dr. Who or read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe?  IT'S AMAZING.  So, like most artistic people with overly allowing parents, I became a sci-fi junkie.  Sure, I could keep it quiet most of the time.  Barely anyone found out.  My World of Warcraft friends weren't social enough to tell anyone on me.  Nobody had to know.  

Then, one day, I woke up and my mom wasn't here any more.  Just like that, she was gone.  I was so grateful for the amazing woman who shaped me, who let me be me, who loved science fiction and the daughter who didn't.  So, in her honor, the time has come: 

I'm saying it loud and proud.  I'm a total nerd and I love it.  I'm enjoying discovering all the things I proudly disavowed and it's making me such a cool person.  

I mean, just don't tell anyone.   

Hot Mess

My name is Maria and there is a whole lot of mess in my classroom closet, drawers, and in my brain. 

I am great at helping other people come up with organizational systems.  Turns out, I stink at implementing them.  I can either organize it so well that it takes me three years to set it all up, can only be deciphered by a handbook, and is color coded.  Or, everything goes into one drawer and I have no idea how to find anything ever again.  

Some days, I wish I was better at this.  I wish I could just put my hands on that one piece of paper.  I feel like I am going to pull my hair out because I know I made three copies of something and it isn't in the "Tuesday" folder where I swear I put it.  

Other days, however, I'm glad that my brain doesn't function like this.  Too much structure, for me, feels stifling.  

Classrooms can be effective in chaos.  Some of the best days in my room have been when I can't see or remember the color of the carpet.  I know that I need to find a balance but it doesn't make sense to me to spend more time worrying about where the colored pencils should be rather than creating exciting opportunities to use  them.  

One of the challenges for me in teaching is the number of questions and requests thrown at me during the day.  Early on, I implement strategies such as "Ask three before me" to limit the number of small people standing within 3 inches of me needing something.  A lot of times, however, the line of kids is excited to show me something, want to read me something, or want to share a story.  And these are the moments when I really get to know my kids.  

I'm grateful during these times to have a brain that allows me to be off task.  I'm not saying that structured, well organized, efficient people can't be successful teachers.  I just know that it wouldn't work for me.  Sometimes, allowing the kids to work in weird spots, look through my "craft box" in the closet, or asking them to decide how they want to present a topic, is exactly what we need to build community, get energized, and effectively teach and share content information.  

As I prepare to go back to school and I peruse the beautiful classrooms on Pinterest and in my own school, I know that organization is important.  I want my students to feel proud of our shared space and I want it to be efficient and clutter free.  Unfortunately, it doesn't come naturally to me.  I can come up with creative seating, rhyming birthday cards, and catchy bulletin boards.  However, I have no idea how/where to store my own materials.  I just know that they need a place.  

So, I went to the 1$ store and I bought places.  I got a label maker and I made labels.  I researched, I got materials, and tomorrow I will engage in my own PBL design project.  

I'm almost happy that I am having this experience.  It's hard for me to understand why my students don't know how to use a sheet of notebook paper, where to put their homework, or construct an argument with fact and fluency.  But really, these are all different types of organization skills.  I know I can help them with these!  I also know that if they don't have "it" I can give them strategies to get there.   

I'm going to start with a plan and I'm going to do my best to stick with it.  However, if I have to choose between stopping kids to clean up or continuing to create, my new strategy will be a sign on the door that says:


And I'm totally OK with that.  

Headed to Australia

Have you ever had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day?

Of course you have.  Everyone has.  And if you are an educator, you probably know that I am referencing a lovely book by Judith Viorst titled Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.  In this book, Alexander decides that he is going to Australia since his day is so awful.  At my school, we are encouraged to have an "Australia" or area that a student can go to calm down, take a moment, or just sit quietly for a few minutes.  I haven't had one because I felt like my room was cramped enough.  Tomorrow, I'm going pillow shopping.   

I just couldn't get it together today.  It really started yesterday.  I did something to upset a friend and it was completely unintentional.  The weird thing is, she was so gracious.  I apologized, I told her why I had done what I had done and she told me not to worry.  In fact, I went to her to see what I could do to "fix it," and she said that it was all O.K.  Later, she even texted me to tell me, again, that it was all a misunderstanding and that I shouldn't feel bad. 

I still did. 

Then, another friend had a car battery situation.  It all worked out but I still worried for her.  I know that feeling of having something that functions stop functioning.  I also know what it's like to have an unplanned expenditure come up.  I didn't want that for her.  And, I realized that I was in no position to help her.  It wasn't my fault AT ALL.  And, she didn't need my help.  Why in the world would I feel bad?  

I still did.  

Understandably, I didn't feel great when I woke up this morning.  I couldn't believe my alarm was going off, it felt like I had just laid down!  My very old dog isn't doing well and she wouldn't eat.  I can't leave food out for her because my very fat wiener dog is on a diet.  I finally got out the door and down the road when the sun came out and I had left my sunglasses at home.  I NEVER LEAVE MY SUNGLASSES.  They are like my security blanket and I've had the LASIK and they make me look like a 1950's movie star and they hold my hair back just perfectly.  

I had to be at school at 8:00 a.m.  It was fine. I was on time.  

But how do you think my day went?

It didn't matter that after that morning, nothing went that poorly.  It didn't matter that everyone was kind to me.  It didn't matter that we had a successful session of professional development and team planning.  It didn't matter that I finally organized that "junk tub" in my classroom (you have one too, right?).  It just didn't matter. 

When I got home, my answer to "How was your day?" was "It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day."  The rotten that I woke up with just wouldn't go away.  It just stunk up all the good that followed.  

I'm a grown-up.  I know how to handle my feelings and emotions.  I know that there will be times when I will make poor choices, bad decisions, or act unwisely.  However, through experience, I know that tomorrow will probably be better.  It's all going to be fine. Eventually.  I am hoping that as I get even older (perhaps, wiser) that I will be able to see that even more quickly and not dwell in it at all.  But what about when you're 9 or 10?  You may not realize that it's going to get better.  You may think that the whole world is against you.  And you may not know that it's going to be all right.  

Sometimes I think all I have time to teach is content.  But if someone in my room is having one of those days, are they really listening to me anyway?  I would say probably not.  

So, I guess I get it.  I need an "Australia."  I'm not saying it will be any better because: 

But maybe some pillows and a safe space will help.  Maybe a hug.  I'm going to go try it myself right now.  

  

Let's Agree to Disagree

Do people know how to have a conversation anymore?

One of the first conversations I will have with my students is how to have a conversation.  By the time my students leave my classroom, it is not uncommon to hear them speaking to one another in a manner that shows greater skill than some adults I have spoken with.  By mid-year, I am beaming with pride when I hear one of my students say "I respectfully disagree with what you are saying."  It doesn't have quite the panache as "Yo' Mama" jokes but it does reflect a lot of hard work and modeling.  

In this age of internet conversation, I often wonder if people are losing their sense of courtesy.  Obviously it is easier to be mean when you don't have to see the "whites of their eyes," but I want to take it a step further.  

If you are obviously passionate about something and a person is willing to publicly call you out, disagree, or challenge your belief, what is the goal of the conversation that is about to ensue should you reply?  

Now, as I tell my students, I think that in that type of conversation, the goal should be to inform.  If each party is knowledgeable, passionate, and willing, great learning can take place.  The key is that in order to have this conversation, you have to come prepared.  If you didn't put in the time, act like a mime.  Turn your voice off.  What's great about that is... you can still listen!  And, you have two ears so you are working hard! 

However...  what I see happening at this point, in my classroom and on the internet, is that it suddenly goes from a conversation to a verbal lashing and disagreement of epic proportions.  The goal is no longer to inform but to WIN>! And, really, that's not what it should be about.  

I wonder what the adults in their lives are modeling?  I grew up in a house where there wasn't yelling.  I am 100% sure that my parents disagreed on things.  My mom was a hippie and my dad was military.  They were basically Dharma & Greg but they looked like normal people.  I was raised to feel like my opinion mattered but taught to listen to what other people thought as well.  I'm not sure that many of my students have this.  

So, it falls on the teachers. Again.  You know what though, that's ok.  There are a lot of things that I will teach them that they won't remember.  This is something that I think can influence the rest of their life.  Instead of anger and emotions that run out of control, how great would it be if the kids that came through my room got up, shook hands, and said "Let's agree to disagree," and walked off.  We need more of that. At least, that's what I think.