Saying Goodbye

This week we begin saying "goodbye" to our students in different and strange ways.  Today starts our school's locker clean out.  The procedures put in place to keep everyone safe seem so foreign and odd.  Students and parents had to sign up for an appointment to come in the building.  The directions sent out to parents were an entire page long:

Directions for Students● Each student will have 10 minutes to clean out the locker.● Students enter their hallway using the exterior entrance closest to their wing (NOT the front doors). Parents can drive around the back of school if needed (Teams 6-1, 6-2, 6-3, 8-2, 8-3).● Students waiting to enter should use social distancing. Look for dots on the ground and make sure to plan for inclement weather.● Students have 10 minutes to clean lockers - no more than 2 students in each hallway at a time. Please be prepared and respectful of time.● Students need to bring a bag with them to put all contents of the locker. Multiple trips in and out of the wing will not be allowed so come prepared for one time in and out.● Students need to wear a mask while they are inside the building.● School items removed from lockers (like library books) can be placed on a cart at the front of the wing.● Students are not to leave their hallway unless directed by or approved by a staff member.Other items in building● Students' instruments will be placed at the front of the wing.● Yearbooks: Students who already purchased yearbooks will be given one during locker cleanout. For those wishing to purchase yearbooks, a staff member will be available to assist you.● PE lockers, Art projects, & other items left outside of the wing: Please notify the wing monitor for assistance.● Medication in the nurse's office will be handed out at a later date.

Next week on what should be our last day of school, we will have a "reverse car parade" at the school to wave goodbye to our students. Like many schools across the country, on the last day of school all teachers and staff stand outside and wave goodbye to the bus and students leaving for the year.  Our principals wanted to recreate that day, so they put together a parade for the parents to bring the students up to say goodbye.  Our school has almost 1000 students so to ease the traffic, they have divided the alphabet up and given times for each group to drive through.  I am excited and sad to have to say goodbye in this way. I NEED to see my students, but I want to give the hugs, sign the yearbooks, and share the memories of this year with them. 

My team has decided to do something fun next Wednesday.  We created a short trivia competition using Kahoot.  We are inviting all 102 students to join us and play a game. I hope that I get to see many of their faces and be able to give virtual hugs to all of them.  Last week, when I was packing my classroom, I was sad that I would not get to give students back their first day of school picture with my goodbye on the back. I found a way around it though! I still have their photos saved to my drive, so I am going to email them with their picture and a short note attached.  I know it doesn't completely replicate the handwritten note, but I think it is a close second. 

There are so many things in the air about next school year, and I am very nervous.  A TON of my teacher friends do not think we will be going back next school year to a brick-and-mortar school. I am not sure I want to be a teacher anymore if I can't interact with my students in a face-to-face classroom.  The reason I do the work and spend the hours away from my personal life is for my students and the difference I can make in their lives.  It was so hard to connect with my students during eLearning, and I had developed strong, lasting relationships with almost all of them.  My brain is a mess of thoughts, and I am scared that this is going to be normal teaching for some time, and I am not sure that I want it. BUT what kind of teacher would I be if I just gave up on my students now?  That isn't right.  Just because it is hard, I can't stop.  If that was the case, I would have quit after my first year. 😂

I know this blog is a stream of disconnected thoughts and feelings, and I could go back and edit it, but this is my brain every day. These are the thoughts and ramblings of a teacher during a pandemic, and I can guarantee I am not the only one feeling this way.

The End of the Year with eLearning

WHEWWWW... This week has been an emotional roller coaster. It is teacher appreciation week. I received many sweet notes from my students that made my day along with a nice sign and cupcake delivered from my school.

BUT, I also had to pack up my classroom, all by myself. My building is scheduled to have construction this summer.  Basically, the entire campus will be shut down because they are putting in new electrical and HVAC, replacing the circle drive and some sections of the roof, plus removing asbestos in parts of the building. This meant that we had to have our classroom packed up so that everything could be moved out while the construction was happening. With schools closed, we were asked to come in and pack our classrooms this week, so construction could start early in hopes that it would be finished early, and we could get back in our classrooms earlier. On the first day of school, I take a picture of each student and it stays up in my classroom the rest of the year. I take the down pictures, and write a note to each student and then give them back on the last day. It is always so fun to see their reaction to what they looked like on the first day of school. It really hit me while packing up that I am not going to get to say "goodbye" to my students or have any closure to this school year.

Our last day of school is May 21st. This means we have 2 weeks left of eLearning/school.  Teachers and students are definitely feeling that early May drop off this year more than in past years. Work completion is dropping, and students are not joining our Google Meets anymore.  I am struggling with my own motivation as we end week 7 of eLearning.  I am thankful for the next 2 weeks, my students are doing a collaborative project with our math teacher.  It is a fun project that we always do at the end of the year from teacher creator, Secondary Sara.  The students create a "bucket list" of items they want to accomplish and then choose 1 to research and present to the class.  This year the students also have a budget and other math skills to complete while they are researching. Most students are very engaged in the project and enjoy completing it.  I hope that will translate to the online environment as well.

eLearning Emotions in a Pandemic

I work as a 7th grade ELA teacher in the Parkway School District in the suburbs of St. Louis. Currently, all Missouri schools have been closed for the rest of the school year. What it looks like to be a teacher has drastically changed over the last 7 weeks.  I now spend 4 to 5 hours during the day on my computer and then reply to emails from students and parents off and on all evening.  The only real "downtime" I have is after 10 pm when we are asked not to send emails anymore.

Are we being effective?
I am not sure that this type of teaching is effective, and I wonder everyday if my students are actually learning anything. I know that we must continue moving forward, however, I think that making connections with our students during this time is the only thing that truly feels important.  As adults, there are a lot of us struggling with our emotions during this time. We must consider that if adults are feeling this way, our kids must be feeling much of the same, but might be unable to communicate their feelings to others. Supporting the mental health of our students should take priority over whether they are mastering their grade-level standards. Our district has worked hard to send out numerous resources to support our students mental health and well-being.  I am proud to be a part of the district as they address what is most important to us moving forward.

Students: The Reason We Teach 
The reason I love teaching (and almost all other teachers) is the connection to students.  While eLearning, we are not able to make those connections or share funny moments with each other.  I saw a post on social media when this all started from a teacher mourning the loss of her favorite time of the year.  She was so completely and totally right. The end of the year is the best time to be in a classroom. Students and teachers finally really know each other, can share jokes, and relax a little bit.  It is the excitement of spring and upcoming summer break. We have lost all of that and teachers, along with students, are grieving.  We need to cut students a break during this time.  Let's check in with them to see if they have all their physical and mental needs met, and then let's do some fun activities to keep students engaged with us as long as we can. Teaching as usual is not going to work and the teachers who think they  must finish the unit on Ancient Greece or multiply fractions are losing sight of what is really important in the world today. 

My eLearning Philosophy
I hinted at it above, but I have made a 180 turn when it comes to my teaching philosophy during this shutdown. I used to think that students must master our priority standards before moving on to the next grade, but now I realize that there are things that are more important.  Instead my assignments have focused on keeping people connected and loved.  We spent 1 week writing letters to friends and family and then mailing them. The students loved it and loved receiving letters back from grandparents or friends. It is pretty rare to get a handwritten letter in the mail anymore, so I wanted students to give someone they love a reason to smile during this time.  We have also been talking about the books that we are reading and connecting with others on Goodreads in order to share their reading. This has been a great way to show students how readers in the real world share their love of books and reading.  I am still "teaching" my students, but my focus is no longer on the standards, but on the well-being of my students and building their love for reading and writing. 

Video in the Classroom

Based on Prensky’s descriptions, I struggle to decide if I am a digital native or a digital immigrant. I was born in 1985.  I did not have a computer in my house until I was 16, I didn't even have a cell phone with text messaging until I was almost 18 years old.  I remember a time when I could only send texts to people who were on the same network as me. :) BUT, I have been so immersed in technology that I think and teach like a digital native.  I don't remember a time when there wasn't at least one computer in classrooms, multiple computer labs, Smartboards and projectors.  From upper elementary on, technology has been a huge part of my education.  

Even though most people would categorize me at as a digital immigrant, I grew up with the explosion of technology, and I have grabbed on to it.  Technology has become a bit of a passion of mine.  I love anything and everything to do with it, so I tend to understand where my students are coming from and how their engagement is different than previous generations.  Working with middle school students has taught me to how to be humble and listen to them.  They are the best teachers for digital immigrants.  My students have never had to use a paper phone book, looked up information in an encyclopedia, or have to call "the weather line" (I still remember the number: 781-1616)

Building relationships with my students and listening to them has really helped me to understand most of their language around technology.  It is so important for educators to listen and really hear what our students are saying.  They are the best resource we have, and we can't take them for granted.  

Keeping students safe from undesirable social video content is a huge part of our job as educators. We must preview every video before we send it out to students and we must be careful of the type of sites we are sending our students to. Keeping ourselves informed of the inappropriate and unreliable websites will help us to protect our students.  I will never forget the first time I was in the computer lab with a teacher.  I think it was 3rd or 4th grade and she had us go to www.whitehouse.com, and it was a pornography website.  The teachers did not understand the importance of the domains in websites.  It was an embarrassing day for her, and a day I will never forget.  Being educated is the best way we can keep our students safe. 

The meeting that never ended, AND could have been an email...

We have all been there:  A meeting where the presenter reads word for word from their slides, and we just have grin and bear it while there are other pressing things to do in our classroom.  Why couldn't they just send out the slideshow and let us read it? UGH....

I NEVER want to be one of those people. This week we are looking at presentation design.  This is something that I LOVE!  I am so excited to get new ideas and ways of presenting.  In a different world, I think I would have become a graphic designer.  If only I knew what I know now... :)  

I am most excited to try out both the Takahashi and the Pecha Kucha formats.  I know that I shouldn't put everything I want to say on my slides, but I still tend to put too much on my slides because I also use my slides as my notes to my students.  I had no idea that there were formats already created that I could just mimic!  

I am presenting a 3 hour PD session in July on Hyperdocs---If you haven't heard of them and are curious, ASK me! If you haven't heard of them, but couldn't care less, well...you better find another blog. 😜Just kidding, but in all seriousness, they are a very exciting way of teaching!  I am excited to try one of these formats to present with.  I like the idea of 20 pictures in 20 seconds, but I worry that my topic won't fit it super well, so I am leaning toward the Takahashi method but switching it up a little. Black and white is boring to me, so I am think that I will use color, but still stick to one word on each slide.  I hope that the creators of this method won't be too upset at my use of color! Haha!   I am nervous to present to teachers using this format, but I also think that it will be a good chance for me to try this out because this will be the 2nd summer I have taught this PD sessions and I know the material very well.  

In thinking about using this way to present, I think it is perfect for adults and certain types of presentations, but I am not sure it is something I can use in my 7th grade ELA class. I teach 12 and 13 year olds all day long. They are still trying to figure out how to take notes and most of the time I am telling them what is important to write down. I worry that these type of slideshows will not work for me in the classroom.  I am curious what other teachers think? Leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts!

How do we change the way we teach our students to use technology?

I teach a 90 minute block of reading and writing to about 50 seventh graders at a large school district in the suburbs of St. Louis.  My middle school students are using technology from the time they wake up until the time they go to bed.  They have never known a world where they can't just "Google it" or "search it up." However, we (teachers, schools, heck, even parents!) are trying to teach our kids about technology in isolation.  In 2019, why is technology still a class kids go to to learn to use a tool and not an integrated part of the lessons we teach?

As 21st century educators, we have to adapt the way we teach to the way our students learn.  Everything is coming at them a mile a minute. They have access to information in a second.  They can order dinner, buy movie tickets, and get a ride to their friend's house in less than 60 seconds using their phone.  Most educators did not grow up in this fast-paced world, and they are still trying to teach this generation in the way they were taught.  It just doesn't work for these students, and that ISN'T a bad thing.  

We must begin teaching students how to use technology while they are learning, creating and doing.  When something is taught in isolation, it isn't transferred. We now live in a world of instant gratification.  Can you imagine taking a cooking class that is taught the same way we teach students to use technology?   

             Learn to cook risotto in 6 weeks! 

             Week 1: Cutting and sautéing onions. 

             Week 2: Selecting the correct rice and toasting the rice. 

             Week 3: Adding broth to the rice. 

             ... And so on and so forth. 

Breaking down each step and teaching it in isolation just confuses and slows down the chef.  We should be teaching someone how to make risotto by actually making risotto. It is the same thing with technology.  We shouldn't teach students to use technology only in one 45 minute class period 3 times a week. No wonder teachers are complaining that students don't know how to find reliable and credible resources, share information, create resources for others, or to be good citizens online. It is still the responsibility of ONE teacher to cover all these topics. No wonder there isn't any transfer.  ALL teachers need to take on the responsibility of teaching students to use technology.

In my ELA class, I always plan a mini-lesson on the tool we are going to use the first day we use it. It is vital that the students spend 5 to 10 minutes with a how-to and then have the time to go "play" with the tool on their own.  This is how they learn to use the newest social media and play the newest game...they just do and play! So, of course, this is the way they learn how to use the newest tool for learning. I work with a lot of teachers when they want to learn to use a new technology tool in the classroom, and I always tell them to plan to teach them how to use the tool and then give them extra time on the first day to just figure it all out.  If we give students more time at the beginning of the year or unit to learn the tool while they are using it, then they are more likely to remember and use it again.  

Technology is a part of our everyday life, so why isn't it a part of every classroom every day?  We can't rely on the technology teachers to cover it all.  In Creating a New Culture of Teaching and Learning by Alan November he shares what he believes is the best way to our students learn:   

The best thing to invest in right now is collegiality. The number one skill that teachers will need is to be team-based, collegial, sharing their knowledge and wisdom -- not thinking that “these are my students in my classroom.” We have to drop that language. Collegiality, teamwork is what’s needed.

November hit the nail on the head with this one.  We have to work together and be willing to share ideas, knowledge, and responsibilities with other teachers in our buildings.  There are so many teachers who shut their doors and teach, ignoring other teachers ideas and techniques.  When we, as educators, can have an open, honest sharing of ideas, every one of our students will benefit and succeed from our shared knowledge. 

November also brings up a great point about why traditional professional development on technology isn't always effective. "Staff developers, please don’t train teachers to use technology without kids. Ask every teacher to bring two or three students."  This is something I have seen first hand when I attended one of November's multi-day workshops a few years ago.  The second time we met, about 2 months later, he had our school bring a group of students in order to learn with and beside their teachers.  It was an awesome experience because the students went back and they were our leaders to help us further implement some of the new ideas we learned.  Using our students as a resource to change the way we teach students about technology is something that I want to try at my new school.  I have seen first hand how effective it is, and I know that the students listen and are more attentive when it is their peers trying to teach them.  

There are many things we can do to change how technology is taught in schools, but the first thing we need to do is look at what we are doing that is ineffective and then spend some time working with our teammates and colleagues to share ideas and find what is effective in our classrooms in order to do more of that.