Quick reflection on last period....

Have to get this out before I forget. Just spent a good half-hour talking with my students. It was an enjoyable back-and-forth that touched on issues in the district and our school. It's so refreshing to see these students as citizens that want to make changes. We shared ideas on how to make the school better and talked about why it was important to us. It amazes me that they see so much going on that they disagree with but don't realize how much change they can create if they tried. 

When I asked some students if they told any administrators about something that they felt was wrong, one girl replied, "They wouldn't believe us anyway, we're just students. The principal would only listen to a teacher telling them that."

That is exactly what has to change.

Our students need to feel empowered to control their own destiny and to try make a difference. They need to be able to create an environment that they are proud of. My job as a teacher is to show them that it is possible and then get out of their way.

Compliance or Learning?

What do we want from our students? 

It's obvious that we want them to learn. That we want them to WANT to learn. For themselves and not just for a grade. But we also want them to do more. We want them to be on time and be in uniform and be prepared and do homework and study and on and on and on. When does this list of demands get too long and start to take away from the most important part?

There has to be a time where we sit back and start asking the same question that the students are always asking us: Why?

And follow it up with this question: How will that affect learning?

My school's uniform policy prompted me to start thinking about this issue. The uniform is pretty simple: black pants and gray school polo shirt. Seems easy enough but there are students who don't wear it everyday. There could be a good reason for the wardrobe malfunction, but most of the time, they are choosing to be non-compliant.

Once that happens, the administrators and teachers have to make a decision about how to handle it. Call home? Suspend? Let it slide for a day? What happens the next time the student is out of uniform?

Where do I go from here?

Wow, it's almost June. It seems like it was September the other day and here I am getting ready for the last 2-3 weeks of school. I constantly try to reflect on what I do and how the year has been going but June always seems to be when I really think about it. Questions abound in my head, like:

• Why did this work?
• Why didn't that work?
• What was I thinking when I tried that?
• Will it get easier next year?
• What can I change for next year?
• Where do I go from here?

Most of these questions are for internal reflection that I can hopefully use to get better. The last two are the ones that take up most of my thoughts.

What can I change for next year?

There are many times that I find myself asking this question. At this point, the list of answers is probably endless. Obviously, there is no perfect environment or school or classroom or teacher but there are some that are close. Each year I try to fix what didn't work in the past. Some changes have worked, others notsomuch. I think my biggest problem has been to pick and choose small changes on top of some aspects that haven't been working. A few weeks ago, I wrote about what I wanted to do next year (after some more reading, standards-based grading is getting added to that list) and now I'm starting to think more and more about how to do it. Using Twitter has opened up my eyes to all of the possibilities for my classroom and has made this year the best for me in terms of my own professional development. 

Where do I go from here?

This is more figurative question than a literal one. I'm not leaving my school and I'm still going to be teaching math next year, but I'm at a fork in terms of my philosophy and practice. I believe that my school and district focus too much on the grade and not enough on the process. Too many of my students worry about what they need to do to get an A, B or C and not enough about how much further to take their understanding. Before the end of this year, I hope to have a clear idea of what I will be specifically teaching next year and a plan on what to do. I'm actually looking forward to the idea of rebranding my teaching style for next year. 

At times I feel like the picture-perfect world of students engaged and wanting to learn is unattainable. Then, I read a blog or follow a link and see examples of it happening everyday. In the end my personal goals as a teacher are to look forward to every day of the year and to be disappointed that the year is ending because I will have to wait 2 whole months to get started again. If I have to change almost everything to get there, I'm willing to take that chance.

What did I take home from EdCampPhilly?

Quick answer: A couple of stickers, a list of smart, resourceful people to follow on Twitter, and inspiration.

This past Saturday, I attended my first unconference at EdCamp Philly. It was amazing! There was so much going through my head that it has taken me until now to finally take everything in and process it. The aspect of EdCamp that stood out the most to me was seeing so many educators learners willing to take their day off to collaborate and discuss ideas and topics relating to our students and careers. That alone was inspiring and refreshing.

Once the schedule filled up, there were so many possibilities about where the day would lead. Because of other plans, I was able to catch half of the first session, half of the third and all of the fourth. My goal for the day was to get as much out of each session that I was able to catch.

What exactly is EdCamp Philly?

I can't wait for tomorrow morning. Not because it's going to be Saturday, but because I'm going to EdCamp Philly - my first "unconference." I'm excited to get a chance to meet a bunch of new people and to hear and see all sorts of ideas about 21st Century Education. Anyone that I know that has gone to an unconference always tells me it's a great experience and that I should get to one as soon as I can. Last year I missed the signup deadline, but this year - IT'S ON!

So, what exactly is EdCamp Philly? To be honest, I'm not sure. 

Here's what I do know. It's about educators and learners getting together to share ideas. It's a place to meet scores of passionate people who want the best for their students and want to help others find that same passion. It's going to be a day of new experiences, inspirations, motivation and ideas for me. 

Finally, and most importantly, I have a good feeling it's going to be fun!

What are my plans for next year?

As June gets closer and closer, I start to think about what I've done this year (and the previous four) and what I want to do next year. Every year I know there are lessons and topics that I've covered that have gone well and others I'd just as soon pretend never even happened. In five years of teaching, I know that I've definitely improved on some of my practices but I feel that parts of what I do are stuck in a rut. We live in an age where the power of technology is everywhere yet I still have not completely harnessed that power for good.

In five years, I've given lectures on topics and asked students to take notes and complete classwork and homework. I've followed the curriculum that my district has set and used that as my gauge of student progress. There have also been times where I've created projects that require the students to do some research or figure main points out on their own. At times, I've turned some classes loose with a basic concept and watched them take it to places that they didn't think they could. I've had boring classes and exciting classes, great ideas and cover-your-eyes-awful ideas. On my own time, I've spent hours reading and thinking about what I want to try in my classroom (20% time, flipped classroom, social media, project based learning, and more) and never completely convincing myself that I can do it. In short, I have been conducting my classes in a 20th Century Classroom and not the 21st Century Classroom I believe I should have. As I look through the list of qualities of 20th and 21st Century Classrooms that Dr. Z has posted, I realize that there are so many opportunities that my students and I are missing out on experiencing.

Five years as a teacher is a big deal to me. I've had multiple careers (not just jobs) and the longest amount of time I have spent in any one of them is about four years. Teaching is what I plan to do for the rest of my working life. I know that I want to be in this field for the next 30 years, but I also know that I need to make it more enjoyable and effective for me and my students.

So, in no particular order, I give you my list of Things to Do Next Year...

How do you learn to accentuate the positive?

This is one of those questions that I've been trying to answer for a long time. I try to think of myself as an optimist. I like to think that I can find the good in most people and situations. Unfortunately, I find myself dwelling (obsessing?) on the negative more often that I should. The worst feeling is that I know I should focus more on the successes of my students than on my failures as a teacher. There is so much more value in watching a student go through the process of learning and striving to reach their potential than overanalyzing something that didn't turn out the way I planned (wanted? hoped?).

I'm not naive enough to think that I will ever completely master the idea of being a teacher. There are too many variables and changes in education for that to happen. I know that I will get better at what I do. I know that I'm better (at least a little) now than I was 5 years ago. The problem is that I don't tell myself that enough and I let the negative energy take control every now and then. At the risk of sounding cliche, all I want to do is be happy and enjoy getting up for school every day. 

What I really need to do is to find ways to remind myself daily that some of my current students will be following in the footsteps of my former students.

There will be more of: 

• The quiet and determined Valedictorian/Runner/Head of Everything who focused on her work and making herself better while some of her classmates played around.
• The goofy and focused Barber/All-Star Running Back/Sprinter who did what was asked of him for his teams to win and never complained when others received recognition.
• The middle-of-the-pack, good-at-math student who wanted to be an architect but ended up becoming a teacher by way of Drexel, Holland Architects, CGinteractive, NAPCO, NESN, Sports Authority, Finish Line and Drexel again.

Those first two hopefully know who they are and how much of an inspiration they are to me. That last guy, hopefully he finds a way to look in the mirror in the morning and realize that this will work out. The success stories are out there and are being rewritten. Every. Single. Day. I guess I just have to make more of an effort to find them.

Why are you answering all of these questions?

Plain and simple - to get ideas out of my head and into the world. Sometimes my questions will be ones that I'm trying to find the answers to. At other times, my questions will be ones I ask myself or that I think would be interesting to babble on about. I don't know how often I'm going to do this but my goal is to put up some thoughts a few times a week. Maybe once, maybe more, only time will tell.

One aspect of this blog that I'm looking forward to is to use it as a roadmap of my journey as a teacher. I've been teaching for almost five years now and still feel like I'm just getting started. There are many strategies and techniques that I want to try in my classroom but I haven't attempted many of them for some reason (could be time management, fear, uncertainty, or a million others). I hope that I can use this platform as a way to find help and receive feedback on what I'm trying to do and improve my classroom and teaching in the process. I have been casually following some great educators on Twitter for the last year or so and it's finally time for me to jump in and take some chances at making what I do more enjoyable, engaging and rewarding.

Why did you become a teacher?

As I sit down to finally start to take my thoughts out of my head and put them out into the world, this is the first question that comes to mind. Before I can answer that, I need to give you an idea of what this blog is going to be about. Anyone who knows me, knows that I can ramble on and on about different topics and that I try to see both sides of every story. I will never be a person to say that I know it all and that everything I feel is right. In the end, what I say is what I think and feel based on what I know or think I know.

My goal with this blog is just to answer questions. I'm not sure how often I will post and I'm definitely not sure if anyone will find any of this interesting. If it happens that you like something, AWESOME! If not, sorry for wasting your time.

Now, where was I? That's right....."Why did you become a teacher?"